Minnesota’s Governor, Tim Walz, recently used a political event in South Carolina to urge his fellow Democrats into adopting abrasive tactics against the former President, Donald Trump. In his role as the main speaker for the Democratic gathering in the Palmetto State which occurred on a Saturday, Walz employed coarse language to insist that his party members become uncompromising in their opposition to Trump. Albeit received well by the attendees, the governor’s comment of ‘maybe we should be a bit meaner, a little bit more fierce’ raised eyebrows.
Walz, who we can recall as an unsuccessful candidate for Vice President back in 2024, compared the political dynamics to a classroom setting where the teacher attempts to curb the bullies. Earning a lot of attention was his statement ‘the thing that annoys a teacher most is watching a bully.’ Then, he used this analogy to propel his argument that Trump is a bully who ought to be dealt with in a somewhat questionable way by emphasizing ‘but when it’s an adult like Donald Trump, you bully the s–t out of him back.’
This was soon followed by his attempts to paint Trump as a ‘wannabe dictator,’ which is just an absurdly misguided way of characterizing any political adversary. Somehow suggesting that Trump is an ‘existential threat we knew was coming,’ Walz further illustrated his penchant for dramatics. Similarly, he forewarned his Democrat colleagues that they were heading into ‘a challenging few years.’ His underestimation of their prospects was greeted with puzzling acceptance.
The governor continued to fuel this peculiar narrative by encouraging his party to ‘push back on the bullies and the greed.’ Clearly, Walz seems quite pleased with his aggressive posturing, a stance that was surprisingly well-accepted by the gathered Democrats. Despite his many blunders, Walz’s aggressive stance and vulgar language were ironically aimed at the very figure he branded as a bully.
The irony thickens as Walz, after filling the air with his unsavory words, prompted South Carolina Democrats to remain joyful. ‘Damnit, we should be able to have some fun and be joyful,’ he declared. It seems rather contradictory for him to spur on an atmosphere of hostility and then call for joyfulness.
Throughout his speech, Walz proceeded to attack policies from across the political divide. He notably mocked Trump’s promise of a ‘big, beautiful bill.’ His condescending comment on it: ‘I used to teach fourth grade and was going to say it sounded like a fourth grader came up with it but that would be insulting to my fourth graders.’ This easily forgettable attempt at humour was unfortunately greeted with laughs by the crowd.
Adding to the series of statements that he would likely regret, Walz went on to incorrectly praise a dip in the share price of a specific electric car company. Celebrating misfortune in the stock market is an inappropriate gesture to say the least, and yet it was one he claimed gave him ‘a little boost during the day.’ This revelation raises questions on the sincerity of his observations.
To conclude his ‘knuckleheaded’ display (a self-descriptive term he used), Walz was reminded by his staff of a rather embarrassing fact: Minnesota’s pension fund owns shares in the aforementioned electric car company. This example of contradictory behaviour undermines the credibility of Walz’s statements and illustrates the pitfalls of unconsidered remarks.