By Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is reportedly battling anxiety ahead of Tuesday’s debate with Ohio Senator JD Vance. According to reports, Walz has expressed self-doubt about his ability to match up against Vance, a seasoned attorney, describing him as a “trained lawyer-type.”
Adding to the pressure is the concern that a poor debate performance could further disappoint Vice President Kamala Harris. Insiders told CNN that Harris has expressed private frustrations with Walz’s continuous gaffes during the campaign, including an awkward moment where he mistakenly referred to her as a “prostitutor.”
The Minnesota governor fears being labeled the wrong choice, CNN writes.
[Walz] feels genuine contempt for and confusion over what he views as Vance’s abandonment of their common roots, and for flipping so many of his positions to fit with Trump. The digs he takes at Vance by saying he didn’t know many Midwesterners who went to Yale are a glimpse into his anxiety that his opponent learned to be a sharp debater there, according to people who know Walz.
“He’s a strong person,” said Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who’s known Walz since they were each first elected to Washington in 2006. “He’s just not a lawyer-debater type. It’s not like he was dreaming of debates when he was in first grade.”
Walz is confident in Harris’ vision. But the governor fears he won’t make his case as well as he needs to, according to people who have been speaking with him.
“How’s debate prep going?” one person at an exclusive high-dollar fundraiser asked Walz as he stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows in megadonor Alex Soros’ penthouse living room in Manhattan on Monday.
“As teachers, we are trained to answer the question, and we train our students to answer the questions,” the person recalled Walz saying. “That’s not how this goes.”
The aides told CNN that he’s not just trying to set low expectations.
Walz’s wife, Gwen, is also said to be upset about the situation. She reportedly feels her husband is being subjected to unnecessary embarrassment by having to debate Vance, further adding to the tension surrounding the event.
Aides report that the overall mood within Walz’s camp is tense, with the joy of campaigning seemingly diminished as the debate looms closer.
The report comes on the heels of Walz having a less-than-happy welcome at a college football game over the weekend. The Minnesota governor campaigned at the Minnesota-Michigan game in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Saturday and was booed by some in the crowd.
👀 Tampon Tim gets booed outside the Big House pic.twitter.com/tW3VsHaZ6P
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 28, 2024
Steven Cheung, Trump’s campaign spokesperson, told Newsweek in an email on Sunday, “Tampon Tim is a weirdo and it’s no surprise he was heckled and scurried out of the stadium like a rat.” The trip also saw Walz weirdly grab his crotch while meeting with college students.
What’s with the awkward crotch grab right after he says he’s “excited about young people”?
Something is up with Tim Walz. pic.twitter.com/qhN2IJBzZL
— Riyan Virtanen | American Debunk (@americandebunk0) September 29, 2024
The vice presidential debate between Vance and Walz will occur on October 1, 2024 at 9:00 PM.
[Read More: Kamala Begs For More Debates]
