MINNEAPOLIS — Gov. Tim Walz’s ratings as a potential running mate for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris may be on the rise, but if he’s still being taken seriously as a running mate, something stranger is happening.
“Weird,” after all, is a word that has been trending during the election season: In three television interviews last week, Mr. Walz used it to describe former President Donald Trump and several other Republicans.
“That’s weird, that gives off a weird vibe,” Waltz said on MSNBC last week. He continued on CNN on Sunday, saying, “I saw Donald Trump talking about the great Hannibal Lecter and the bizarre Tonight Show… That’s weird behavior. I don’t know what else to call it.”
Walz is one of three front-runners for vice presidential nomination, along with Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, according to a recent Bloomberg report.
But Walz’s “kook” label is beginning to take hold within the party, and he will likely receive a final endorsement from Harris herself this weekend in Massachusetts.
“Some of you may have noticed that Donald Trump has told some outrageous lies about my record, and some of the things he and his running mate have been saying are just plain bizarre,” she said.
Analysts say Walz has succeeded in labeling Trump in a new way that Democrats believe will be effective.
“Democrats certainly poll a lot, and that ‘weird’ word is very effective,” said Larry Jacobs, a political analyst and professor. “Walz went from being an unknown Midwestern governor to being the favorite to win. If you think about the political Olympics, Tim Walz is now one of the front-runners.”
Of course, the final say in the “vice presidential election” rests with Harris. The other leading candidates each have their own strengths: Shapiro represents Pennsylvania, which has 19 electoral votes, and Kerry is a former astronaut and U.S. Navy pilot.
Walz, a rural native with years of National Guard service, a teacher, a congressman and a long history as Minnesota governor, also has the clout to have come from coining the “wacky” label, which a growing number of Democrats seem to be using against President Trump.
Harris’ campaign has said she will choose her running mate by August 7th.
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