Walz tries to burnish his everyman image with trip home to Minnesota

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks to players on the Mankato West football team on October 11, 2024, in Mankato, Minnesota.  Aaron Lavinsky/The Minnesota Star Tribune/AP

As a high school marching band played a rendition of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz walked down the 50-yard line at Friday’s crosstown rivalry football game between Mankato East High School and Mankato West High School. Walz, accompanying the latter team’s captains, received an introduction that would work equally well at a campaign rally.

“Joining them for the coin toss,” said the announcer at Minnesota State University-Mankato’s Blakeslee Stadium, “former Mankato West defensive coordinator, decadelong geography teacher, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.”

The crowd reacted with mild applause, mostly from Mankato West supporters. After the coin toss, Walz took a seat on the bleachers, where he took selfies and signed autographs alongside his mother, Darlene Walz. The governor cheered throughout the game as Mankato West took an early lead, and although he departed at halftime, Mankato West held on to win 28-7.

 

Walz’s visit to the football game, and his stop earlier in the day at the school where he once taught and coached, marked his first return to the town he called home for 10 years since joining the Democratic presidential ticket in August. Walz moved to Mankato in 1996 to teach social studies and coach football at Mankato West, along with his wife, Gwen, who taught English. Walz left teaching in 2006 after he was elected to Congress.

Since Walz was named the Democratic vice presidential nominee, the Harris campaign has sought to highlight his tenure at Mankato West as the defining aspect of his background, more so even than his over 20 years in the National Guard or his six terms in Congress. Vice President Kamala Harris often refers to Walz as “Coach Walz,” a moniker now seen on campaign signs at Walz’s rallies.

Adding to his Midwestern fall weekend itinerary, Walz on Saturday marked the opening of pheasant hunting season by going on a hunt, which he called the “best two hours” he’d spent “in two weeks,” according to a pool report. Reporters followed his hunting party, which included several other hunters and a few hunting dogs, from a safe distance as he trekked through Minnesota grasslands for several miles. Walz ultimately did not have a chance to fire his Beretta A400 shotgun, but he spoke after the hunt about why he purchased it.

“I bought it when I was shooting a lot of trap because it has kind of a … thing to kick off so when you get old it doesn’t hurt your shoulders as much,” Walz said.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz hunts in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, on October 12, 2024.  Pool

Walz’s return to Minnesota is part of the campaign’s bid to win over male voters in Midwestern battleground states. A campaign official told CNN that Walz’s recent interviews with local outlets in Midwestern battleground states and a sit-down interview with former NFL star Michael Strahan on ABC’s “Good Morning America” were also part of the push to engage persuadable male voters. A Pew Research Center national survey released Thursday found 51% of registered male voters support former President Donald Trump, while 43% support Harris.

In an interview that aired Friday with WPVI News in Philadelphia, Walz said the Harris campaign is working to close the gap in support among male voters with messaging on economic and social issues targeted toward men.

“These are folks that want to make sure they’re able to get a good job, be able to buy a home, get a good education. Those are not that different. And I think it’s more of taking it to them, making the message tailored,” Walz said.

But for Walz, the return home was also a brief respite from a campaign that has been particularly challenging lately. The governor has faced an uptick in scrutiny for making false statements before and after joining the Harris campaign, including repeating the false claim he was in China during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests as part of an up-and-down performance during the vice presidential debate earlier this month.

Walz’s return to Mankato was received well by some locals. In a video released by the campaign on Friday, Walz’s former students and players reminisced about the Democratic vice presidential nominee’s time as a teacher and coach. Sarah Manes, a former student, described Walz as a high-energy teacher who sought to form meaningful connections with students, joking, “I don’t think he ever sat behind his desk.”

Richelle Norton, who took classes with both Gov. Walz and Gwen Walz, said Gwen Walz was a stricter teacher. “She said, ‘Well, I’m not like my husband. I’m not like the Easter Bunny, just giving out A’s,’” Norton said in the video.

Before the game, Tim Walz stopped by Mankato West to greet players as they left for the stadium and speak to old colleagues. As he walked into the school, Walz was warmly greeted by Sherri Blasing, the school’s principal and a former neighbor of the Walzes in Mankato.

“Welcome home, Coach! Welcome home!” Blasing said.

Walz tries to burnish his everyman image with trip home to Minnesota | CNN Politics

Walz tries to burnish his everyman image with trip home to Minnesota | CNN Politics

 

Tim Walz goes pheasant shooting

Harris's running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, has been out hunting pheasants on Saturday as the season opened in his home state.

Gun in hand, he invited media to photograph him in hunting gear.

In response, a Trump campaign account described the outing as "nothing more than a desperate attempt to make up ground with male voters".

"Sorry Tim, men aren’t voting for a gun grabber," it added.

The Harris-Walz campaign has made a point of saying they support gun rights, but back "sensible" firearms-control proposals, including calls for a ban on semi-automatic rifles.

Harris told CBS show 60 Minutes on Monday she herself owns a gun, made by Austrian company Glock.

A Pew survey this week found 51% of male registered voters support Trump, and 43% back Harris.

The gender gap is reversed among female registered voters: 52% of women support Harris, and 43% back Trump.

 

팀 왈츠(Tim Walz)는 꿩을 쏘러 간다

해리스의 러닝메이트인 미네소타 주지사 팀 왈츠(Tim Walz)는 그의 고향 주에서 시즌이 시작되면서 토요일에 꿩 사냥을 나갔다.

총을 손에 든 그는 사냥 장비를 입은 자신의 사진을 찍어달라고 언론에 요청했다.

이에 대해 트럼프 선거 캠프 계정은 "남성 유권자들과 화해하기 위한 필사적인 시도에 불과하다"고 설명했다.

"미안해요, Tim, 남자들은 총기 소지자에게 투표하지 않아요."

해리스-왈츠 캠페인은 총기 권리를 지지한다고 말하지만, 반자동 소총 금지를 요구하는 등 "합리적인" 총기 규제 제안은 지지한다고 밝혔다.

해리스는 월요일 CBS 쇼 '60 Minutes'에서 그녀 자신이 오스트리아 회사 글록(Glock)이 만든 총을 소유하고 있다고 말했다.

이번 주 퓨 리서치 센터가 실시한 설문조사에 따르면 남성 등록 유권자의 51%가 트럼프를 지지하고, 43%는 해리스를 지지하는 것으로 나타났다.

여성 등록 유권자 사이에서는 성별 격차가 역전되어 여성의 52%가 해리스를 지지하고 43%가 트럼프를 지지한다.

 

Walz poses for a photo in 1981 during basic training for the Army National Guard. In 1989, he graduated from Chadron State College in Nebraska, majoring in social science education. He received a master’s degree in educational leadership from Minnesota State University, Mankato.   US Army

 

Walz, right, and Gary Bloomberg stand at an artillery training facility at Camp Guernsey in Wyoming in 1992.   US Army

 

월즈 후보는 이날(21일) 연설에서 자신이 총을 가지고 있는 사냥꾼으로, 의회에 있는 어떤 공화당 의원보다 총을 잘 쏜다고 말했습니다. 그러면서 총기소유권을 보장한 수정헌법 2조를 인정하지만, 첫 번째 책임이 아이들을 안전하게 지키는 것임을 믿는다고 밝혔습니다.

팀 월즈 미네소타 주지사는 1964년 4월 6일 미국 네브래스카의 시골마을인 웨스트 포인트에서 6.25 전쟁 참전용사이자 학교 교사인 제임스 F. 월즈(James F. Walz, 1929 ~ 1984)의 아들로 태어났다. 부모 둘 다 가톨릭 신자였다. 가족을 도우며 농사와 사냥을 하며 살다가 1981년 17세의 나이에 아버지의 권유로 주방위군에 입대하였다. 2005년까지 25년간 비상근 주방위군으로 복무하다 포병 원사로 퇴역했다

 

미국 주방위군

미국 주방위군(美國國家警備隊, United States National Guard), 통칭 주방위군(州防衛軍) 은 미군의 예비군 중 한 분과다.

 

미국의 50개 주 및 괌, 버진아일랜드, 푸에르토리코 준주, 그리고 워싱턴 D.C.까지 총 54개 지역에 별도의 주방위군이 존재한다. 각 주방위군은 주둔하고 있는 주의 지역 민병대로 기능하면서 동시에 연방정부의 예비군으로서 이중 지휘체계에 속한다.

 

1.조직

미국 주 방위군의 지휘권은 각 주지사에게 있으나, 연방정부에도 주방위군국(National Guard Bureau)이 설치되어 있다. 주방위군국 국장은 대장 계급으로 미국 합동참모본부 각 주의 방위군을 통솔하는 주방위군 총감(Adjutant General)은 통상 소장 계급이다. 군 부대 조직으로 육군 주방위군, 공군 주방위군으로 구분된다.

 

2.임무

주 방위군 기본 임무는 주자사의 명령에 따른 주 자체의 치안 유지, 재해 구조 등이며, 전쟁 및 국가적 재난, 치안 사항 발생시에는 연방군 소속으로 해당 작전에 동원될 수 있다.

 

3.규모

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