WILMINGTON — In Tim Walz’s time on the national stage, he’s been described as “folksy” and “plain-spoken” countless times.
That means bringing out the adult language from time to time.
The Minnesota governor and Democratic candidate for vice president appeared at Wilmington’s Greenfield Lake Amphitheater last Thursday, a few days after he raised eyebrows for calling Elon Musk a “dips–t.”
With a chance to backtrack, clarify or apologize in Wilmington, Walz instead doubled down.
“I did a very Midwestern euphemism the other day when I was talking about Elon being Donald Trump’s running mate and jumping around on stage, and it popped out,” Walz said. “And a lot of people did not know this phrase. Some people in parts of the country don’t know what that is. Trust me, it’s what he is.”
Walz also used plain-spoken language when comparing Kamala Harris’ policies and vision for the country to those Trump has espoused.
“Lower costs for middle-class families, where everybody gets the opportunity to get ahead, not just get by,” Walz said. “And guess what? She’s laid out a plan to make it happen, not some ‘concept of a plan’ bullcrap that he makes up.”
Walz highlighted Harris’ plan to give new parents a $6,000 tax credit to help with child care and other expenses for families with a newborn.
“When they asked JD Vance about child care, he just said, ‘Ask Grandma to do it,’” Walz said. “When Trump got the question, he just went word salad, broken brain, and didn’t say s–t about it.”
The salty language earned chuckles from the crowd and was on-brand for the candidate who has been given the label of “America’s Dad” in the 2024 presidential campaign — but make no mistake, there is strong emotion driving Walz’s word choice.
“This is not a game,” he said. “You need people who can actually come up with ideas.”
“You know, look, I get it from his perspective,” Walz continued, targeting Trump’s plan for Social Security. “What’s he care about Social Security sitting down at Mar-a-Lago? You don’t do crap, don’t pay taxes yourself. He doesn’t care if the Social Security check arrives. My mom cares because it pays for food and her heat. That’s how this works.”
Walz spent much of his speech warning of what Trump would do if elected. “And Lord knows, there’s not one damn Republican in Congress that’s got a damn spine to stand up to him,” he added.
Walz ran down many of Trump’s controversial remarks on the campaign trail, including a promise to be a dictator and take revenge on his enemies. He also took a jab at Trump’s well-publicized legal trouble.
“How interesting is it that on the Democratic ticket, both of us are gun owners,” Walz said, “and the Republican nominee can’t pass a background check? Cannot. Cannot. All of you out there listening, you go into Bass Pro Shop, put that gun up there, fill out the form, and when it comes back with 34 felony convictions, they throw your ass out of Bass Pro Shop. That’s what they do. You don’t get the gun.”
Emotions ran highest during the closing moments of Walz’s remarks, however, when he addressed gender.
“Let me just for a minute talk to all the men that are here,” he said. “Look, Kamala doesn’t talk about it, but it is damn past time we quit just talking about the cracks in the glass ceiling and tear the damn thing down and have Madam President.”
The repeal of Roe v. Wade, made possible by the justices Trump appointed to the Supreme Court, was the centerpiece of Walz’s gender remarks. “Think about the women in your lives,” he said, “those that you love: daughters, wives, moms, neighbors. Their lives are literally at stake in this election. That’s what this vote means.
“We’ve seen what they’ve done,” Walz said of the former president. “Donald Trump appointed those Supreme Court justices. They repealed Roe v. Wade. He brags about it. He’s glad. He’s glad that my daughter, your daughters, the women in our lives now have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers did. Twenty states, including North Carolina, now have Trump abortion bans, which he says is a beautiful thing. Beautiful thing that you’re seeing women being denied care when they go to the ER because there’s a problem with their pregnancy, having miscarriages in parking lots.”
Walz ended on a hopeful note before introducing legendary singer James Taylor to perform a concert.
“We are here because we believe in the promise of this country,” Walz said. “We have been given a gift. Billions of people around the world could not imagine the ability to as free people gather to chart the direction that we want to go.”
Even if choosing the direction requires the occasional bleeped-out word.
