Is Tim Walz the Midwestern Dad Democrats Need?
About this episode
Recorded days before Kamala Harris chose him as her running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz makes the case for Democrats owning the 'normie center.' Walz explains his viral 'weird' framing of Trump and Vance — deflating fear-based politics by naming it — and argues Democrats should counter with optimism and material promises like expanded childcare and paid family and medical leave. Drawing on his small-town upbringing and six wins in a Trump-voting House district, he bristles at JD Vance's 'Hillbilly Elegy' portrait of rural America, defends public schools and rural hospitals as community anchors, and insists that when working-class voters reject Democrats, 'there's not something wrong with them' — the party must earn trust on the economy, housing, and the border rather than scold.