Credit: YouTube/This is Gavin Newsom
Tim Walz has claimed that Maga voters are “scared” of his masculinity.
The former vice-presidential candidate said Republicans targeted him during the election campaign because they were fearful he would win over male voters.
“I think I scare them a little bit, [which is] why they spend so much time on me,” Mr Walz told Gavin Newsom during an episode of the California governor’s new podcast.
When Mr Newsom burst into laughter, the Minnesota governor added: “No, I’m serious, because they know I can fix a truck, they know I’m not bulls—ing on this.”
Following his failed election run alongside Kamala Harris, Mr Walz has re-emerged on the national stage by launching a speaking tour of Republican districts.
Tim Walz and his wife Gwen with Kamala Harris and her husband Doug
During his appearance on the This is Gavin Newsom podcast, Mr Walz acknowledged that during the campaign, the Trump team successfully portrayed the Democrats as weak.
“It just baffled me how much time they spent trying to attack me, that I was not masculine enough in their vision,” he added.
Throughout the 2024 campaign, Mr Walz was repeatedly mocked over his hunting prowess and mechanic skills, as well as the way he used a straw, and waved at crowds.
“They focused on it obsessively, which I think again is their obsession, their weirdness.
“We buy their frame on these issues of sexuality,” he told the host, describing how people attacked him online for appearing “gay” and “not masculine”. “I think I could kick most of their ass,” he said.
Tim Walz on the day he joined the military
Mr Walz’s comments were mocked online, with commenters re-hashing attack lines that were used against him during the campaign.
“Only thing that scares me about Tim Walz is how he loads a shotgun,” one commenter wrote on X, referring to issues Mr Walz had with his gun while out hunting during a campaign video.
“Tampon Tim thinks he’s Rambo,” wrote another, in a nod to the nickname Republicans gave the Minnesota governor during the campaign after he signed legislation requiring public schools to stock period products for “all menstruating students”.
Supporters of Mr Trump pounced on the law, claiming it required schools to stock sanitary products in both male and female bathrooms.
Mr Walz repeatedly sought to burnish his masculine credentials, including being a gun owner, on the 2024 campaign trail
Caitlyn Jenner, the transgender former US athlete, re-shared a clip of Mr Walz’s interview on X, captioned: “I am more ‘masculine’ than this [clown] Gov Walz.”
Nicknamed “Coach Walz”, he was cast by Democrats as a running mate who could appeal to male voters.
Throughout the election campaign, Mr Walz repeatedly sought to burnish his masculine credentials by boasting about his prowess as a former high school football coach, and as a mechanic and gun owner, among other claims.
At one point, he challenged his counterpart JD Vance to fix a car tyre.
“I can’t wait for you to show me what you learnt about changing a tyre at Yale,” Mr Walz said, laying down the gauntlet. “Any time, any place, any tyre.”
Mr Walz has re-emerged on the national stage by launching a speaking tour of Republican districts
He and Ms Harris both repeatedly mentioned they were gun owners, in an apparent bid to appeal to Republican voters.
However, he was again mocked online after struggling to load a shotgun during a campaign video from a pheasant shoot in his home state.
“It never fits quite right,” he said.
On Wednesday, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said it was “quite sad” that Mr Walz was celebrating Tesla’s stock slide.
“I think governor Walz unfortunately is living a sad existence after his devastating defeat on Nov 5.”
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