Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz rose to prominence by making the rounds in mainstream media interviews, but since being named Kamala Harris’s running mate, the “folksy”, “midwestern dad” has been missing from the airwaves.
From July 22 to Aug. 6, about two weeks before he was added to the ticket, Walz appeared on MSNBC, PBS, CNN and Fox News a total of ten times, an analysis by Newsbusters’ Curtis Houck, shared with the Daily Caller, showed. Since Harris chose Walz as her running mate on Aug. 6, the governor has not appeared on the networks he flocked to during the vetting process, according to Houck’s analysis.
“It’s no surprise that Tim Walz has gone into the witness protection program first started by the Biden-Harris 2020 campaign after blanketing the liberal cable networks during the vetting process to show Kamala Harris his loyalty to her,” Houck told the Caller.
“Between July 23 and August 6, he appeared on CNN and MSNBC at least seven times, with an additional hit on taxpayer-funded PBS. Morning and evening, Walz made sure Harris and her team saw him at all hours of the day. Importantly, none came after July 30 as the vetting intensified and Harris conducted final round interviews,” he continued.
The shift is a jarring departure from Walz’s pre-nomination media blitz, which skyrocketed him into liberal stardom and separated him from the other contenders in the VP sweepstakes.
Walz has done one tv appearance since being named Harris’ running mate; his joint interview on CNN alongside the vice president. Over the first month of her presidential campaign, Harris faced scrutiny for a lack of unscripted moments. The pressure forced Harris to commit to setting up an interview by the end of August, though rather than doing a one-on-one sit-down, she brought Walz along.
Neither Harris nor Walz have held a press conference since beginning their run, only taking a few questions from reporters in gaggles when on the road. (RELATED: ‘Can We Get A Question At Some Point?’: Walz Ignores Shouted Question About Lowering Prices During Campaign Stop)
While Harris and Walz have done one media appearance together, Senator J.D. Vance has done 94 interviews, press conferences and gaggles with the media since Trump named him his running mate on July 15, according to Axios. In the month of August, Vance did all five major Sunday shows, the outlet reported.
“Tim Walz is in hiding, just like Kamala Harris, because Harris is a San Francisco liberal desperately pretending not to be one, and no one trusts Walz to remember every part of the fictional record the campaign staff has created for both of them. They are both radical leftists, whose policies would only send the American economy into a deeper and faster spiral, and the last thing they want anyone to do is answer questions about anything,” Tim Murtaugh, senior adviser to the Trump campaign, told the Caller.
“Walz has lied about so much that they have no idea what piece of his embellished life story he’ll roll out next. Next thing you know he’ll claim to have quarterbacked the Minnesota Vikings to the Super Bowl while simultaneously serving in Afghanistan,” he added.
Before Walz was shielded from mainstream media appearances, the governor was going viral for his line of attack on Republicans. During his July 23 hit with MSNBC, Walz deemed Vance, Trump and other Republicans “weird,” a message that would prove to be a bit troublesome for Vance as he started to hit the campaign trail. (RELATED: CNN Data Guru Says ‘Weird Attack Line’ Against JD Vance Is ‘Absolutely’ Hurting His Favorability)
“Walz sat with incredibly friendly liberal journalists who saw no problem in helping Walz advance his case, including his astroturfed insult against former President Trump, Senator Vance and the Republican ticket as being ‘weird.’ The moniker kept Walz in the minds of liberal journalists like star-crossed lovers being unable to think of anything else after laying eyes on each other. Why? He said exactly how they feel about conservatives,” Houck told the Caller.
I’m telling you: these guys are weird. pic.twitter.com/fvNRNf7T7T
— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) July 24, 2024
Scott Jennings, a longtime GOP adviser in Kentucky and veteran of numerous campaigns, told the Caller that the Harris campaign must have judged Walz as a risk to the operation and chose to sideline him as a result. (RELATED: ‘Putting In The Work’: Republicans View JD Vance As Invaluable Asset As Campaign Enters Home Stretch)
“They’ve obviously judged him to be a huge risk. His limited engagement on the CNN sit-down was ridiculously bad,” Jennings told the Caller.
After Harris named Walz her running mate, the Minnesota governor has been caught in several lies, including some about his service record. (RELATED: Tim Walz Claimed He Has A Family ‘Because Of’ IVF — But His Wife Used A Different Fertility Treatment)
The Harris campaign unknowingly began the unraveling of Walz’s military story after unearthing a 2018 video of the governor pushing for gun control, saying that “those weapons of war, that I carried in war” should stay only in combat. Social media users were quick to point out despite Walz’s statement, he never saw war.
Veterans in Walz’s unit previously accused him during his run for office in 2018 of retiring from the National Guard to run for Congress once it was revealed that he would be deployed to Iraq. Vance has lobbed attacks at Walz on the campaign trail, questioning why Americans should trust a guy who lied about his military record. (RELATED: Attacks On Walz’s Service Lies Are Only Just Beginning, Trump Insiders Say)
Veteran who knew Walz unloads on him on the @MegynKellyShow: “He’s not brave, I call him a coward because he is” pic.twitter.com/efGKk1fHjm
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 2, 2024
The Minnesota Governor is also the subject of a congressional investigation relating to his ties to the Chinese government. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer wrote a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray to request all documents relating to any Chinese entities that the now-governor may have interacted with while on his dozens of trips to China.
Lies aside, Jennings told the Caller that another reason for sidelining Walz could be because he would be pressed about a policy platform Harris is yet to define. More than a month into her campaign, Harris has only unveiled her economic policy and has yet to put a platform on her website. The Trump campaign, by contrast, features the Republican National Committee’s platform as its own.
Walz is fairly capable, if you go back and listen to his debates in previous races. My guess is the Harris campaign is holding him back too, if he got out there and did more interviews than her she would look bad. https://t.co/7gYhAaOWp9
— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) September 5, 2024
“In his defense, she has no idea what her positions are so how could he be expected to know anything?” Jennings said.