Politics
WATCH: Local Fishermen Roast Tim Walz While He Struggles To Handle Rod
A flotilla of Trump-supporting fisherman surrounded Tim Walz on Sunday, mocking his rod-handling skills with Trump impersonations as the Minnesota governor appeared to struggle with reeling in a catch during the 77th Governor’s Fishing Opener.
The Democrat lowered his face beneath a white cap while trying his best to ignore hecklers floating just dozens of yard away. Through a megaphone, they belted out their best Trump voices and joked that Walz had poured “minnows out of a bucket” into the water to simulate a catch.
“The instructions were on the bottom!” The Trump impersonator said while another suggested Walz couldn’t read them “’cause they’re in Chinese.”
“Well he does read Chinese! Maybe he does, I don’t know!” responded the impersonator, alluding to the governor’s love of China and frequent trips made to the communist country before he first ran for public office.
“He loves China. China! He loves the way I said China,” laughed the heckler.
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Since his November loss alongside former Vice President Kamala Harris, Walz has been the subject of a reckoning over the Democratic Party’s outreach to white men. The vice presidential pick, who recently referred to himself as a “code talker” to the demographic, made overt appeals on the campaign trail, filming videos while fixing his truck or talking about enjoying insipid “white guy” tacos.
“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 earlier this month.
“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.”
The inauthenticity of his overtures eventually tarnished Walz’s reputation among voters who rejected him in favor of Vice President J.D. Vance. However, the stinging rebuke hasn’t stopped the Minnesota governor from continuing to tour the U.S. as he seeks to build back his brand ahead of a possible 2028 campaign.
Limited polling on the race puts Walz near the top of the field and just below his former running mate, who herself is the subject of will-she-or-won’t-she intrigue about her future. Harris has told allies she is giving herself until the end of summer to decide whether to wait for 2028 or mount a bid next year for California’s governorship, which will be an open race.
Even if Harris declines to run, it’s far from a guarantee that Walz would fill her shoes in the field, especially if he continues to self-inflict some of the wounds he’s experienced as of late.
In April, he wished his beloved Minnesota Twins a lossless season on Opening Day, only to see the team go 0-4 in its first series. Before that, Walz claimed baselessly that the 2024 election was stolen and admitted to being a “smart a**” with an “unhealthy” obsession over Elon Musk and Tesla while attempting to explain some of his cutting remarks against the Trump advisor.
