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442356


Date: October 13, 2024 at 11:28:40
From: old timer, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Tim Walz faces new question: How many 'misspeaks' can a 'knucklehead'

URL: Tim Walz faces new question: How many 'misspeaks' can a 'knucklehead' get away with?


Tim Walz faces new question: How many 'misspeaks' can a 'knucklehead'
get away with?

Sam Woodward
USA TODAY


MINNEAPOLIS — What started as an appealing character trait has quickly
become one of Tim Walz's biggest problems: His way with words.

Exaggerations from the 60-year-old Minnesota governor's past, combined
with a series of verbal gaffes, have helped define the Democratic vice
presidential nominee during a critical two-month period since he joined
Kamala Harris atop the party's 2024 ticket. Selected in part for his
Midwestern plainspokenness and ability to connect to people, Walz's
introduction to the nation's voters has also been hampered by his having
to answer for why he cannot seem to say the right things.


"Welcome to the NFL," said Chris Pack, a Republican strategist who
argued that while "Tim Walz may be a nice guy in Minnesota" the national
political arena will hold candidates more accountable for what you say.

From misstating the fertility treatment he and his wife used to saying he's
friends with school shooters during his only debate with Republican rival
JD Vance to exaggerating his military service and the amount of times
he's visited China: Walz's gaffes have become inescapable.

And the list keeps growing.

Sign-up for Your Vote: Text with the USA TODAY elections team.

Governor and candidate for Vice President Tim Walz interacts with
supporters during a rally at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno on Oct. 8,
2024.
Just this week, the Harris campaign issued a statement clarifying it didn't
agree with Walz's comments made during a California fundraiser that the
Constitutionally-mandated system that the country uses for picking its
president - the Electoral College - "needs to go." That came on the heels
of a late-night TV appearance where Walz said that he planned "on
waking up on November 6 with Madam President.”

In that specific case, Walz got a chance to clarify his remarks in a light-
hearted exchange with the show's comedian host, immediately laughing
with the crowd and hiding his face. “I have a problem about not being
specific with my language. So, thank you for that, specifically right,” Walz
told Jimmy Kimmel.


But not every instance gets a laugh. Walz is routinely confronted about his
mistakes when within reach of the media and he's had to spend significant
time during the final stretch of the 2024 campaign answering for slip-ups.
It's been distracting from what Democrats had hoped his presence on the
trail would be about - defending Harris' policies and record - and Walz has
acknowledged that Harris herself has warned him to be more careful with
his words.

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Republicans have been all over Walz on the topic too by raising questions
about his competency to serve as No. 2 to the leader of the free world.
Former President Donald Trump on the campaign stump is calling Walz a
"lightweight" and "total moron," while Vance noted in a summertime X
post soon after questions emerged about Walz's personal biography:
"Forgive us for thinking that a person without integrity shouldn't go
anywhere near the oval office."


While it's Harris and Trump at the very top of the 2024 presidential ticket,
Walz's "flat out lying" will only help Republicans in November, said Pack, a
former communications director for the National Republican
Congressional Committee.

"He just doesn't seem like a serious guy, he just dismisses everything as
being a 'knucklehead', but one knucklehead away from the vice
presidency?" Pack said. "That doesn't really inspire confidence and
ability to do the job."

Flub or falsehood?

Like many VP nominees (and sitting VPs) before him, it's the late-night TV
shows that have helped elevate Walz's stumbles into the national lexicon.

In a recent Saturday Night Live sketch, comedian Jim Gaffigan portrayed
Walz during his debate with Vance and the specific exchange where the
Democratic VP nominee gave a meandering explanation for why he had
misstated the time he'd spent in China during the 1989 pro-democracy
protests in Tiananmen Square.

"So, I think what happened is, I went to Epcot," Gaffigan said, mocking
Walz's actual response during the primetime event. "You can go around
the whole world, and I had a couple in the Germany section, and I thought
I went to China. Anyway, I'm a knucklehead."


The Harris-Walz campaign refers to the VP nominee's recent errors as
"misspeaks." They also say they are relatable and sincere mistakes largely
chalked up to Walz's passionate way of speaking, even when answering
questions in the heat of the moment.

Like-minded Democrats told USA TODAY that they see Walz's problems as
not indicative of the governor's character or how he'd govern if elected to
high office. They maintain that Walz's inexperience with the national
attention and being held to such high standards is endearing and won't
hurt their presidential ticket. They also are quick to point out a long list of
concerns with Trump as voters potentially return him to the White House.

"It's a little exaggeration, or it's a misstatement," said Elaine Kamarck, the
director of the Brookings Institution's Center for Effective Public
Management and a former top adviser to Al Gore when he was vice
president and a presidential candidate in 2000. "He's running against a
ticket with a guy who's got 34 felonies, all of this just looks pretty petty."

What's next for the VP's?Vance and Walz pivot from debate back to being
loyal wingmen

Pack disagrees. He shrugged off his own party leader's fabrications to
argue that Walz had an opportunity upon joining the Democratic
presidential ticket and all the attention that brings with it but instead puts
his foot in his mouth.

"One person's misspeak is a majority of the people's lie," he said. "Walz
was a blank slate, and he's been defined through his own gaffes as not
being a credible or serious person."

A screen displays the CBS vice presidential debate between US Senator
and Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance and Minnesota
Governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz in Times
Square in New York on October 1, 2024.
Sticks and stones

During his debate with Vance, Walz opened the door to even more
scrutiny of his own actions while trying to highlight the connection
between Trump's political rhetoric and the violence at the Capitol on Jan.
6, 2021.

"A president's words matter," Walz said, before repeating it again: "A
president's words matter."

For now, Walz's words don't seem to be hurting him in the national polls.
His favorability rating has grown by more than 9 percentage points since
Harris picked him on Aug. 6, according to polling averages collected by
ABC News and FiveThirtyEight.

The Harris campaign is also doubling down on Walz. They've been sending
him out even more to speak in front of large crowds and even more TV
cameras, where the questions inevitably come back to whether his words
matter too. Appearing on CBS' 60 Minutes earlier this week,
correspondent Bill Whitaker asked Walz point blank whether he can be
trusted.

"Ya, well, I can, I think I can," Walz replied. "I will own up to being a
knucklehead at times, but the folks closest to me know that I keep my
word."

Walz during the interview revealed even more about how his language has
been a factor during the campaign. Pressed on whether he and Harris
disagree on anything, Walz responded: "She said, 'Tim, yunno, you need
to be a little more careful on how you say things, whatever it might be."
Laughing, Walz added, "I think folks know who I am, and I think they know
the difference between someone expressing emotion, telling a story,
getting a date wrong by a - rather than a pathological liar like Donald
Trump."

During the Sacramento, California, fundraiser where Walz made his
comments about the Electoral College, he told the Democratic donors that
his days of teaching are sometimes to blame.

"I'm a schoolteacher, so I have an inclination to just answer the damn
question," he said, according to reporters traveling with the vice
presidential candidate. "The first advice they give you is: 'Oh, don't
answer the question. Pivot! Pivot as quick as you can!'"

More:The new 'Swift Boat?' Tim Walz's military service targeted by Trump
campaign

Policy over polish

USA TODAY spoke with voters supporting both Trump and Harris who say
Walz's exaggerations and gaffes aren't at the top of their priority list.

"Everybody has these misspeaks, they're just part of public speaking,
everybody's nervous," said Andrew Feys, a 21-year-old from Negaunee,
Michigan, who plans to cast his first-ever presidential vote for Trump.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Governor Tim Walz
speaks to a gathered crowd of supporters during a campaign rally at the
Highmark Amphitheater on September 5, 2024 in Erie, Penn.
Walz's tendency to stumble over his words makes him more human, not
less trustworthy, Feys said. Even so, policy is top of mind and he's
planning to support the Republican because of issues like the cost of
living and border control - not because Walz is straying from prepared
speeches or talking points.

"Things like that wouldn't disqualify someone from being president," he
said. "Trump has had his fair share of mumble jumbles and misspeaks as
well."

Mary Brabazon, a 60-year-old retired corrections officer from Muncy,
Pennsylvania, and a former Trump supporter told USA TODAY that Walz's
gaffes could be a product of being new to the limelight.

"I do feel he's a candidate that you can be depended upon to get a job
done," she said.


A self-described independent who preferred Nikki Haley during the 2024
Republican primaries, Brabazon said she's most focused in the general
election on picking a candidate who can help the working class while
bringing positivity and order back to the White House, even if people on
the ticket aren't perfect. She said she hopes policies like the ones Walz
led in Minnesota on paid family and medical leave are reflected in his work
as a possible vice president.


While Brabazon said Walz should be more careful, she added that her
decision this November comes down to voting for a ticket with someone
who trips on their words unintentionally rather than someone who won't
admit when they are wrong.

"I can accept when Tim Walz says, 'OK I misspoke, this is what I meant,'"
she said.


Responses:
[442368] [442373] [442374] [442358]


442368


Date: October 13, 2024 at 16:20:09
From: Redhart, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Tim Walz faces new question: How many 'misspeaks' can a...


LOL..meanwhile Trump and Vance are putting Springfield
citizens in danger, Hurricane victims and danger with
their flat out lies..but I guess that's okay with you.
Not remembering something years ago that has no bearing
on our issues today seems to be what you think will
sell?

Well buddy, it's still a no sale. I haven't heard
anyone list that as an issue yet (except you).

Is it a hit piece if no one cares?

.....moving on...


Responses:
[442373] [442374]


442373


Date: October 13, 2024 at 17:09:46
From: old timer, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Tim Walz faces new question: How many 'misspeaks' can a...


“I haven't heard anyone list that as an issue yet (except you).”

kinda dumb thing to say considering usa today with a circulation of over 2
million thought it was newsworthy. the other news stories on
knucklehead walz were also by top media outlets. don’t take things so
personally, with just 3 weeks before the election the media is going to
cover many things about the candidates and you won’t always like them


Responses:
[442374]


442374


Date: October 13, 2024 at 17:38:31
From: Redhart, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Tim Walz faces new question: How many 'misspeaks' can a...


USA is a media corp, not "people".

The only one trying to hawk this story are those looking
for any reason to rationalize Trump, and those who are
paid to do so to offer up stories to those same people.


Responses:
None


442358


Date: October 13, 2024 at 11:42:21
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: How many 'misspeaks' can a 'knucklehead' get away with?


well, you're still here...


Responses:
None


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