...
By Monica Sager
Live News Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Many young social media users have quickly taken to Vice President Kamala Harris's running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, dubbing him "America's dad" and once again showing the power of memes this election cycle.
The 60-year-old father of two known for his folksy demeanor has been greeted warmly on certain corners of the internet, including by some women who say the Minnesotan represents the "father that we lost to Fox News."
...
Read More on News
"After getting to know Tim Walz for the last few weeks, I have realized something and it's very profound," TikTok user @pamelawurstvetrini shared in a now-viral video. "He represents the dad that a lot of liberal women lost."
Vetrini shared her belief that a lot of women prior to Trump's term in office "had moderate to conservative, sensible educated fathers." But since Trump entered the political arena nearly a decade ago, the deep polarization that followed has "driven a wedge between millennial women and her father."
"My father will never ever vote for a female president," she said.
TikTok user @HotTakesPoliticsGirl shared that she and other women grew up seeing their fathers as "joyous, kind men." They "somewhere along the line" became angry "and paranoid."
Walz's entry into the race is "healing a wound I don't think we all realized we had," she said.
The Trump campaign, though, has been calling Walz "obsessed with spreading California's dangerously liberal agenda far and wide."
"While Walz pretends to support Americans in the Heartland, when the cameras are off, he believes that rural America is 'mostly cows and rocks,'" Karoline Leavitt, press secretary for the campaign said in a statement this week. "If Walz won't tell voters the truth, we will: just like Kamala Harris, Tim Walz is a dangerously liberal extremist, and the Harris-Walz California dream is every American's nightmare."
Whether that attack line will stick is an open question.
To liberals like Ventrini, Walz has come off as "an educated, conservative that saw the party getting weird and changed his mind" and is now seen as an "altruistic character."
Photos of Walz with his family, students and even one showing him cradling a piglet at the Minnesota State Fair have been shared widely since his announcement as Harris's vice presidential pick. Many are praising him for what they see as his "normalcy."
Walz got his start in politics flipping a Republican district from red to blue, before he ran for governor. Prior to that, he was a geography and social studies teacher as well as a football coach, which has been credited for helping him cultivate his "everyman" persona. His students have recalled recently that Walz was "one of the most well-liked teachers."
...
He's married to Gwen Walz, who is also an educator. The couple are parents to two children, Hope and Gus.
At a campaign rally on Wednesday, Walz stopped talking and pointed toward a spectator who needed help due to the heat. The governor continued his speech after making sure from the podium that the person received help.
"He's just chill and normal and kind and sensible," said Ventrini. "He just represents all of those qualities that were stripped away from my normal father by this cult."
Do you have a story Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines