Tim Walz
- J.D. Vance versus Tim Walz: the two vice presidents in the stick letter duel.
The Guy: Something like the epitome of the "American Dad": friendly, down-to-earth, family man. The 60-year-old was a teacher and women's football coach and comes from the Midwest, the epitome of the provinces in the USA.
The Politician: Walz became a member of the House of Representatives at the age of 42. In 2018, he then ran for the governorship of Minnesota and was later re-elected. As head of government, he introduced free school meals, advocates stricter gun laws, cannabis legalization, and the right to abortion. When the protests escalated in Minneapolis after the murder of African American George Floyd, the Democrat called in the National Guard.
His most delicate story: 30 years ago, Walz was a high school teacher and reserve officer of the National Guard when he drove drunk at nearly 160 km/h into a police checkpoint. The limit was 90. He had to pay a $200 fine and has not drunk alcohol since. However, it took many years for him to publicly acknowledge the drunk driving incident. In his early campaigns, he claimed that his damaged hearing was to blame for appearing drunk.
His most famous quote is just one word: "weird". The word means "strange", "odd". In a speech, he described Donald Trump and his vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance as "weird". This unaggressive but meaningful label immediately sparked enthusiasm and brought the hitherto little-known governor into the national spotlight.
What others say:
- "Strong voice for working people and America's great middle class." (Kamala Harris, US presidential candidate)
- "Dangerous left-wing extremist, just like Kamala Harris" (Team of Donald Trump, former US president and presidential candidate)
- Nine out of ten Americans do not yet know Walz, but he is very popular in his home state, which is known as "stress-free".
Is Walz as a candidate possibly too nice?
Balance: Tim Walz is in many ways the antithesis of Trump's vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance: a sympathizer, left-liberal but not an ideologue, unifying rather than dividing. The question is whether the friendly governor might be too nice for the poisoned campaign climate.
J.D. Vance
The Guy: From the underclass in the Midwest, through the elite university to bestselling author ("Hillbilly Elegy"), from Trump critic to Trump model student. The 40-year-old has already undergone several transformations - including name changes: the native James Donald Bowman is now known as James David Vance. His rise has made him a ruthless agitator of social Darwinism.
The Politician: Known as a critical observer of the "establishment", he initially refused the Republicans' invitation to run for the Senate. In 2021, he changed his mind, and a year later, he was elected to the Senate for his home state of Ohio. The former liberal Vance now advocates right-wing positions: no to abortion, to same-sex marriage, and to stricter gun laws. He often speaks more sharply than Donald Trump himself.
His most delicate story: The many reversals of his life weigh heavily on him. In a batch of newly surfaced old emails, he rails against everything that Trump and his people hold sacred - in a tone just as merciless as he now uses against transgender rights or "childless cat ladies".
His most famous quote is at least two: During the 2016 campaign, J.D. Vance had called Donald Trump "America's Hitler." Five years later, in an interview, he compared current presidential candidate Kamala Harris to "childless cat ladies who are unsatisfied with their lives and now want everyone else to be unsatisfied too." The remark is now coming back to haunt him, even from conservative women.
What others are saying:
- "He's our handsome devil" (Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate)
- "Vice President J.D. Vance? A strange choice. ... And would Vance be ready to lead the country if the worst happened?" ("Wall Street Journal")
- "You can have a vice president who's great in every way – and I think J.D. is, but you choose the president. You choose me." (Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate)
Are Vance and Trump too similar?
Verdict: J.D. Vance had barely been the vice-presidential candidate for two weeks when many Republicans began to doubt the choice: too inexperienced, too brash, too radical. He and Trump appeal to the same audience, one that would likely vote for the duo anyway. Advantage Vance: Unlike his counterpart Walz, he is allowed and likes to pour oil on the campaign fire.
- Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, called for the National Guard to be deployed during the protests in Minneapolis after the United States of America saw the tragic murder of African American George Floyd.
- Despite Kamala Harris, a US presidential candidate, referring to Tim Walz as a "strong voice for working people and America's great middle class," many Americans are still not familiar with him, highlighting the vast influence of the United States of America's political landscape and media.
