All the tea on Kamala's new running mate, Tim Walz
anyone else feeling a lil hopeful rn? 👉🥺👈
Good morning angels!! A bit of a spesh newsy this morning because it’s simply a deep dive on Kamala Harris’ new running mate Tim Walz, because even though we don’t stan politicians, we DO stan there finally being some good news coming out of the USA.
Hope u love what I’ve dug up on him xxx
Let’s meet Kamala Harris’ new VP pick, Tim Walz
God, I cannot tell you how nice it is to feel GOOD about reporting on some news coming outta the US!! Yesterday Kamala Harris announced her new running mate, Tim Walz (Governor of Minnesota) and despite apparently having very little to do with each other up until now, the two just… really fucking vibed.
Their friendship was evident at their very first rally together, where they were welcomed on stage to the most excitement I’ve seen at a rally - maybe ever???
Some highlights:
Walz saying: “We’ve got 91 days. My God, that’s easy. We’ll sleep when we’re dead.”
Kamala calling the race between them and the Republican presidential ticket of Donald Trump and JD Vance to a “matchup between the varsity team and the JV squad” (Walz was a high school football coach)
Walz calling his republican opponents “creepy and, yes, just weird as hell.”
AND WALZ MAKING A DIG AT J.D VANCE AND THE COUCH FUCKING ALLEGATIONS: “I gotta tell you, I can’t wait to debate the guy. That is if he’s willing to get off the couch and show up.”
Some things to know about Tim Walz (via politico):
His career before politics
Walz enlisted in the Army National Guard when he was 17.
He spent a year teaching in China after college before returning full time to the Army. He traveled to China with one of the first government-sanctioned groups of American educators to teach in Chinese high schools.
He still speaks Mandarin!
Walz taught geography and coached high school football. “I don’t know if every high school geography teacher expects to be in this position at some point.”
He was the faculty adviser for the school’s first gay-straight alliance chapter in 1999.
His family
Walz met his future wife, Gwen Whipple, a native Minnesotan, as they were both high school teachers in temporary classrooms. The first lady said she was irked by his loud voice disrupting her classroom 🥺
He has two children, Hope and Gus. Hope recently graduated from college in Montana, and Gus is in public high school in St. Paul.
Both children were conceived through IVF and fertility treatments: “There’s a reason we named [our daughter] Hope.”
On guns
Walz once earned an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association and the group’s endorsement. In 2016, Guns & Ammo magazine included him on its list of top 20 politicians for gun owners.
He later denounced the NRA and supported gun-control measures, such as an assault weapons ban. During his first campaign for governor in 2018, the NRA completely downgraded his rating. “I had an A rating from the NRA. Now I get straight F’s. And I sleep just fine.”
Shortly after the deadly Las Vegas shooting in 2017, which killed 59 people, he donated campaign contributions from the NRA to a nonprofit that supported the family of military members who died or were severely wounded while serving.
On healthcare
Walz’s father, a school administrator, died of lung cancer when Walz was 19. Walz said this moment fueled his views on healthcare access: “The last week of my dad’s life cost my mom a decade of going back to work to pay off hospital debt.”
His policies
Walz frequently defends his policies, such as the universal school meals bill signed into Minnesota law earlier this year, as common sense: “What a monster! Kids are eating and having full bellies so they can go learn and women are making their own healthcare decisions,” Walz said jokingly.
Walz signed a bill last May expanding voting rights for an estimated 55,000 formerly incarcerated residents.
In 2023, Walz signed an executive order protecting access to gender-affirming care. “As states across the country move to ban access to gender-affirming care, we want LGBTQ Minnesotans to know they will continue to be safe, protected, and welcome in Minnesota,” said Walz.
Misc
In recent weeks, Walz is credited for popularizing the Democratic Party’s latest line of attack against the Republican ticket, when he called Trump and Vance “these really weird people.”
His beverage of choice is Diet Mountain Dew. He got a DWI in Nebraska in 1995 before he quit drinking.
His tater tot hot dish — the unofficial dish of Minnesota — is three time champion of the Minnesota Congressional Delegation Hot Dish Off. He won in 2013, 2014 and 2016.
He is a self-proclaimed sci-fi fantasy guy when it comes to books. “I just finished reading the four-book series Mortal Engines. I read a lot of these young adult ones, because I do it with my kids.
His favorite song by Bob Dylan, one of Minnesota’s most famous celebrities, is “Forever Young,” which contains a “timeless message from a dad to his son,” according to Walz.
He enjoys the all-you-can-drink milk booth at the Minnesota State Fair — so much so that he volunteered at the booth in 2022.
His dog
He has a rescue dog named Scout, who attends a lot of events with him, and has been known to get in a lil trouble:
I just love all of this so much. Let’s fucking gooooo America!!!
Get urself a free annual subscription to the newsy angels 𓆩♡𓆪
Book launch day is quickly approaching and pre-orders are CRUCIAL to the success of a book (who knew right?) so we’re giving away some cute stuff to the first 100 of you who preorder Make It Make Sense in NZ, AUS or the UK!!
If you’ve preordered it you’re gonna get:
A one-year subscription to the newsy (CUTE)
A pack of postcards we’ve designed for you to send to your besties
An exclusive poem print
A Make It Make Sense laptop sticker
IT’S SO EASY, HERE’S HOW IT WORKS:
If you’re in New Zealand visit here to preorder and get your goodies!!
If you’re in the UK visit here to preorder and get your goodies!!
If you're in Australia visit here to preorder and get your goodies!!
Can’t wait to see all this cute stuff in ur hands and on ur walls!!!
(◔_◔)✓✘ TODAY’S MUNDANE POLL (◔_◔)✓✘
☆Other good shit☆
Pre-order our book Make It Make Sense here!
Join our Book Club here!
Become a Close Friend on Instagram here!
Drop a question for our weekend advice column ‘Wait, But What?’ here!
Support the independent media you love by becoming a paid supporter here!
PS, if you wanna chat to me about anything I’ve written today, your latest crush, or if you just want a pen pal, reply to this email and we can be friends 𓆩♡𓆪
Why am I crying reading this. He seems so normal 🙌🇺🇸
Minnesotan here - Walz is the fucking best. We are SO so sad to see him go, but excited to see his journey continue on to bigger and better things!
It is certainly bittersweet - the eventual special election to select his replacement will be... wild. Minnesota isn't as strictly Democratic as it would seem. We're expecting LOTS of different candidate nominations from various parties and groups to want to rush in to fill his seat. Pray for us, it's going to be a political hellscape until his successor is elected.