Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, Kamala Harris’ Democratic running mate, has a history of raising eyebrows on several fronts, from military service to menstruation products.
Here are just a few examples:
DUI ARREST – FALSE DETAILS
In 1995, Walz was arrested for driving under the influence after being caught driving 96 mph in a 55 mph zone, per court records.
Walz confessed to drinking at the time of the arrest.
However, his 2006 campaign asserted to the media that he was not drinking that night and attributed his failed sobriety test to a misunderstanding related to his hearing loss from his time in the National Guard. They also claimed that he was allowed to drive himself to jail that night, all of which was untrue, as Nebraska state police confirmed that Walz was taken by a state trooper to jail, per CNN.
ILLEGAL ALIENS – SOFT ON THE BORDER
Minnesota Senate Republican Minority Leader Mark Johnson spoke about Walz’s record as governor of Minnesota on August 24, 2024, during the “Forbes Newsroom.”
Johnson stated numerous concerns he had regarding Walz, especially when it comes to illegal aliens and border security:
“What I’m very concerned about is that Governor Walz, and if they win, Vice President Walz, would be somebody that would talk a great game and put it in terms that it sounds very benign on the program that they’re going to be implementing, but the reality is he’s going to be going hard to the left on all these issues … things that are important to all Americans like border security. Governor Walz, I’m sure, will put a good spin on it, but the reality is they’re going to be soft on the border again and continue to keep it open in a way that endangers the border states … builds up a lot of expense in states like Minnesota where we have free health care for illegal immigrants … [illegal immigrants] can get driver’s licenses… He is going to put a shine on these things,” explained Johnson.
Minnesota’s assistance programs currently provide financial aid directly to illegal aliens who have been processed and paroled into the U.S., per the state’s Refugee Cash Assistance webpage.
HANDLED WEAPONS ‘IN WAR’ – DIDN’T HAPPEN
In a 2018 video, Walz mentioned carrying weapons during his service in the Army National Guard despite not being deployed to a combat zone.
“We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war, are only carried in war,” Walz said in the video.
USE OF FERTILITY TREATMENTS – MISLEADING
In April 2024, the Tim Walz for Governor campaign office mailed out a fund-raising letter in an envelope that read: “My wife and I used I.V.F. to start a family.’’
This information has been confirmed as inaccurate, as the Harris-Walz campaign stated recently that the couple did not depend on I.V.F. but instead underwent intrauterine insemination, or I.U.I.
Why does this matter?
There is a significant difference between the treatments: while In Vitro Fertilization (I.V.F.) involves creating and possibly discarding embryos, Intrauterine Insemination (I.U.I.) does not. This distinction has led to anti-abortion leaders not seeking to restrict I.U.I., separating it from their efforts concerning I.V.F., reported The New York Times.
“STOLEN VALOR” – STATED WRONG RANK, LEFT BEFORE BATTALION DEPLOYED
Lieutenant Colonel John Kolb, the former battalion commander for the unit that Walz was accused of abandoning before being deployed to Iraq, has not held back his criticism of Walz.
Kolb served as a lieutenant colonel in the 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery from 2005 to 2007. Walz was also a member of the same battalion until 2005, retiring before the battalion was deployed to Iraq in the same year, reported Fox News.
Kolb’s blast of Walz hit numerous media outlets after he posted on Facebook that Walz had not legitimately earned rank. He expressed his disapproval of Walz’s insistence on using the title, labeling it as disrespectful to the Noncommissioned Officer Corps.
Walz claimed in 2006 that he was a “retired command sergeant major,” but this claim is false. Although he briefly served as a command sergeant major, that was not his rank at the time of his retirement, according to The Associated Press.
FEEDING OUR FUTURE FRAUD CONTROVERSY – WHERE DOES THE BUCK STOP?
Seventy people were charged with legal offenses related to fraud between 2022 and 2024, which resulted in a massive loss of $250 million from the Minnesota Department of Education’s Feeding Our Future program.
Renewed attention due to Minnesota’s fraud controversy has led many to hold Walz responsible for the scandal.
Walz’s state program, intended to provide food for underprivileged children, was reportedly unlawfully utilized for purchases ranging from real estate and cars, jewelry, digital currency, lodging, dining, air travel, and more.
“Governor Walz and the people he directly hired and oversaw lost half a billion dollars to fraud in a few short years as governor. Imagine fraud at that scale nationwide,” said Joe Teirab, the Republican candidate for Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District.
“If every state lost that much, the amount lost to fraud would be greater than the annual budgets of over 15 states,” Teriab continued, reported Fox News.
TAMPON TIM – PROMOTES ABORTION, GENDER-TRANSITION SURGERIES, MENSTRUATION PRODUCTS IN BOYS RESTROOMS
While working as a teacher, Walz sponsored the school’s initial gay-straight alliance group.
“When I was a history teacher at Mankato West High School in the 1990’s, I helped start the school’s first Gay-Straight Alliance. Since then, we have come so far on LGBTQ+ equality – and we can’t afford to go backward,” stated Walz in a press release by the Human Rights Campaign – “the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization.”
“Protecting and supporting access to gender affirming health care is essential to being a welcoming and supportive state,” said Walz in March 2023, per The Associated Press.
In April 2023, Walz signed a bill that made his state a sanctuary for abortion and gender-transition surgeries, per the National Review.
In May 2023, Minnesota mandated that schools offer menstrual products for free, with Walz signing HF 2497 into law.
As such, transgender minors and nonbinary students who menstruate and have permission to use male restrooms will have access to pads, tampons, or other menstrual products in the restrooms for students in grades 4 to 12.