Unlike his running mate, who has been on the national stage for many years, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz was little-known outside Minnesota just two months ago.
He’s been on a much bigger stage and facing more intense scrutiny since Vice President Kamala Harris chose him as her running mate in August. The six-term congressman and current governor of Minnesota has championed abortion rights, gun control and family and medical leave in his state. On the campaign trail, he is working to win over voters in other states.
Walz’ background and record
Walz promoted his background as having worked as a bipartisan member of Congress while representing a Republican district before being elected as governor.
“That sense of service fits with what I think people think this job is. This is not about you. This is about the American people,” he said.
Two months ago, Walz and Harris barely knew each other. Now they’re running together for the top office in the land. If elected, he says he knows what his role will be.
“I’m part of this team, but it will be President Harris,” Walz said.
Walz proudly touts his record as governor of Minnesota, but it also has opened him up to criticism from his Republican opponents. Former President Donald Trump has said that Walz and his administration have been dangerously liberal.
“Donald Trump spends his time tearing down states rather than lifting up the things we do, the best of it. Donald Trump’s critiques of that, not only are they wrong, but I’m waiting for, ‘what is his solution,'” Walz said.
Republicans question Walz’ background
Walz has been criticized for misstating some facts about his military record and his travels to Asia in the 1980s. He recently referred to himself as a “knucklehead,” referencing a time that he said that he was in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square crackdown when he wasn’t. Walz has said he “misspoke on this.”
60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker asked about any disagreements Walz and Harris have had since they became a team.
60 Minutes
“Well, I, she’d probably disagreed with – she said, ‘Tim, you know, you need to be a little more careful on how you say things,’ whatever it might be.'”
Walz said those closest to him know he keeps his word and that people know who he is.
“And I think they know the difference between someone expressing emotion, telling a story, getting a date wrong, rather than a pathological liar like Donald Trump,” he said.
Where “weird” came from
Before he joined the ticket, Walz became known for his folksy criticism of Donald Trump and JD Vance. He called the GOP standard-bearers “weird“, and it quickly became a rallying cry for Democrats.
“I was really talking about the behaviors: being obsessed with people’s personal lives in their bedrooms and their reproductive rights, making up stories about legal folks, legally here eating cats and dogs, they’re dehumanizing. They go beyond weird because I said this: it becomes almost dangerous,” Walz said. “Let’s debate policy in a real way. And let’s try and find an objective truth again.”
