Politics
Tim Walz Admits He Was A DEI Hire: ‘Code Talk To White Guys’
Minnesota Tim Walz candidly told the rather unsurprising truth that he was selected as former Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate due to his skin color and ability to “code talk to white guys.”
“I also was on the ticket quite honestly, you know, because I could ‘code talk’ to white guys watching football fixing their truck, doing that, I could put them at ease” Walz said while speaking at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, drawing a quite revealing laugh from attendees.
“I was the permission structure to say, ‘look, you can do this and vote for this,'” the governor continued before conceding that he was unsuccessful. “And you look across those swing states, with the exception of Minnesota, we didn’t get enough of those votes.”
Despite having a relatively unknown national profile outside Democratic Party circles, Walz emerged as the surprise pick for the Harris ticket in the turbulent days following then-President Biden’s decision to step aside last summer. Initial candidates included Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, though Walz emerged as a popular figure on the left due to his frequent attacks against President Trump and J.D. Vance.
In what was the most notable example, Walz labeled Trump and Vance as “weird,” a puzzling line of attack that resonated with Democratic Party voters. With growing favorability among the base and urging from current Democratic National Committee vice chair David Hogg, Harris selected Walz as her running mate on August 6, 2024.
Party strategists flooded news networks at the time to hype up Walz’s alleged appeal to working class white voters in red and purple states, a demographic Harris was struggling with. In a post on X, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas, who served on the U.S. House Veterans Committee when Walz was the leading Democrat on the panel, called Minnesota’s governor “the real deal.”
“High school teacher, football coach, command sergeant major in the Guard… and he just led the progressive miracle in Minnesota: codified abortion rights, restored voting rights, $1b in affordable housing & strong labor victories. And the guy can go on offense,” O’Rourke said.
Walz himself attempted to lean into this image, oftentimes referencing his time as a high school football coach while on the campaign trail. The approach led to a number of notable gaffes, however, including a puzzling moment when Walz talked about “running a pick six” and calling the fourth quarter “the final quarter.”
Voters ultimately disagreed with the assessment from Democratic Party strategists, however, as they failed to win any of the seven swing states, including the rust belt states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin where Walz’s “folksy” approach should have theoretically worked if the assessment were true.
