Who is Tim Walz? The Kamala Harris VP pick behind viral 'weird' dig
The 60-year-old is a former US Army National Guard member and a former teacher who has raised his profile over recent weeks as an advocate for Harris
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Tim Walz caught the attention of the masses when he slammed Donald Trump as “weird” in a now viral moment - but the 60-year-old has now been further propelled into the spotlight with the announcement that been selected as Kamala Harris’ choice for Vice President.
The Minnesota governor is known for instructing progressive policies in his state, including free school meals, abortion protections, gun restrictions and legal marijuana.
His second term has seen more of the same, with former President Barack Obama stating: “If you need a reminder that elections have consequences, check out what’s happening in Minnesota.”
Walz also signed into law the so-called Taylor Swift bill after a legislator expressed their frustration at not being able to buy tickets to wift's 2023 concert in Minneapolis. Now, in part to Walz, ticket sellers must disclose all fees upfront and cannot resell more than one copy of a ticket for any live event held in Minnesota.
The 60-year-old is a former US Army National Guard member and a former teacher who has raised his profile over recent weeks as an advocate for HarrisGettyHowever, Walz only became a household name outside of Minnesota when he appeared on various networks to criticise Trump’s agenda as divisive, extreme, and weird.
“These guys are just weird,” Walz said in July, addressing a crowd of canvassers for the Harris campaign in his state’s capital.
In an interview with CNN, the 60-year-old branded the 45th President with the same insult.
“I see Donald Trump talking about the wonderful Hannibal Lecter or whatever weird thing he is on tonight... That is weird behaviour. I don’t think you call it anything else,” he said, referring to a speech Trump gave where he applauded the 1991 horror movie villain. He had previously been speaking about illegal migration and pressure on the US border.
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The Minnesota governor is known for instructing progressive policies in his state
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Trump himself responded to the dig: “Nobody’s ever called me weird. I’m a lot of things, but weird I’m not.”
Heidi Heitkamp, a former senator and fellow Democrat applauded the term, which soon went viral and Harris began including the phrase in her own campaign.
“No one called Trump weird until Tim Walz did,” she said. “And it resonated for a reason, because he is weird. I mean, anyone who talks about Hannibal Lecter, that’s not normal behavior.
"I think that there’s been people who have tried to intellectualise Donald Trump, and Tim just cut through it all and said, ‘This guy’s not normal. This is weird.’”
Born and raised in Nebraska, the 60-year-old boasts a diverse resume, including credentials as a teacher and serving in the army national guard.
His teaching days began in China, where he took a one-year post there around the time of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
Kamala Harris has announced Tim Walz as her running mate
ReutersAfter moving back to the US, he became a geography teacher and also coached the high school football team. His wife - with whom he has two children - convinced him to come back with her to her native Minnesota.
He also served in the Army National Guard for 24 years, enlisting at age 17, a role that took him around the country and on a deployment to Europe.
Walz has been a long-time supporter of LGBT rights, being the faculty advisor for his school's first gay-straight alliance in 1999, long before Democrats openly supported gay rights.
In 2006, he first ran for office in a Republican-leaning congressional district, knocking off the incumbent in an upset and keeping the district for 10 years.
He then ran for governor in 2018 and won, by 11 points, then defended the seat again successfully in 2022.