Tim Walz faces new question: How many 'misspeaks' can a 'knucklehead' get away with?

MINNEAPOLIS — What started as an appealing character trait has quickly become one of Tim Walz's biggest problems: His way with words.

Exaggerations from the 60-year-old Minnesota governor's past, combined with a series of verbal gaffes, have helped define the Democratic vice presidential nominee during a critical two-month period since he joined Kamala Harris atop the party's 2024 ticket. Selected in part for his Midwestern plainspokenness and ability to connect to people, Walz's introduction to the nation's voters has also been hampered by his having to answer for why he cannot seem to say the right things.

"Welcome to the NFL," said Chris Pack, a Republican strategist who argued that while "Tim Walz may be a nice guy in Minnesota" the national political arena will hold candidates more accountable for what you say.

From misstating the fertility treatment he and his wife used to saying he's friends with school shooters during his only debate with Republican rival JD Vance to exaggerating his military service and the amount of times he's visited China: Walz's gaffes have become inescapable.

And the list keeps growing.

Just this week, the Harris campaign issued a statement clarifying it didn't agree with Walz's comments made during a California fundraiser that the Constitutionally-mandated system that the country uses for picking its president - the Electoral College - "needs to go." That came on the heels of a late-night TV appearance where Walz said that he planned "on waking up on November 6 with Madam President.”

In that specific case, Walz got a chance to clarify his remarks in a light-hearted exchange with the show's comedian host, immediately laughing with the crowd and hiding his face. “I have a problem about not being specific with my language. So, thank you for that, specifically right,” Walz told Jimmy Kimmel.

But not every instance gets a laugh. Walz is routinely confronted about his mistakes when within reach of the media and he's had to spend significant time during the final stretch of the 2024 campaign answering for slip-ups. It's been distracting from what Democrats had hoped his presence on the trail would be about - defending Harris' policies and record - and Walz has acknowledged that Harris herself has warned him to be more careful with his words.

Republicans have been all over Walz on the topic too by raising questions about his competency to serve as No. 2 to the leader of the free world. Former President Donald Trump on the campaign stump is calling Walz a "lightweight" and "total moron," while Vance noted in a summertime X post soon after questions emerged about Walz's personal biography: "Forgive us for thinking that a person without integrity shouldn't go anywhere near the oval office."

While it's Harris and Trump at the very top of the 2024 presidential ticket, Walz's "flat out lying" will only help Republicans in November, said Pack, a former communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

"He just doesn't seem like a serious guy, he just dismisses everything as being a 'knucklehead', but one knucklehead away from the vice presidency?" Pack said. "That doesn't really inspire confidence and ability to do the job."

Flub or falsehood?

Like many VP nominees (and sitting VPs) before him, it's the late-night TV shows that have helped elevate Walz's stumbles into the national lexicon.

In a recent Saturday Night Live sketch, comedian Jim Gaffigan portrayed Walz during his debate with Vance and the specific exchange where the Democratic VP nominee gave a meandering explanation for why he had misstated the time he'd spent in China during the 1989 pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square.

"So, I think what happened is, I went to Epcot," Gaffigan said, mocking Walz's actual response during the primetime event. "You can go around the whole world, and I had a couple in the Germany section, and I thought I went to China. Anyway, I'm a knucklehead."

The Harris-Walz campaign refers to the VP nominee's recent errors as "misspeaks." They also say they are relatable and sincere mistakes largely chalked up to Walz's passionate way of speaking, even when answering questions in the heat of the moment.

Like-minded Democrats told USA TODAY that they see Walz's problems as not indicative of the governor's character or how he'd govern if elected to high office. They maintain that Walz's inexperience with the national attention and being held to such high standards is endearing and won't hurt their presidential ticket. They also are quick to point out a long list of concerns with Trump as voters potentially return him to the White House.

"It's a little exaggeration, or it's a misstatement," said Elaine Kamarck, the director of the Brookings Institution's Center for Effective Public Management and a former top adviser to Al Gore when he was vice president and a presidential candidate in 2000. "He's running against a ticket with a guy who's got 34 felonies, all of this just looks pretty petty."

What's next for the VP's? Vance and Walz pivot from debate back to being loyal wingmen

Pack disagrees. He shrugged off his own party leader's fabrications to argue that Walz had an opportunity upon joining the Democratic presidential ticket and all the attention that brings with it but instead puts his foot in his mouth.

"One person's misspeak is a majority of the people's lie," he said. "Walz was a blank slate, and he's been defined through his own gaffes as not being a credible or serious person."

Sticks and stones

During his debate with Vance, Walz opened the door to even more scrutiny of his own actions while trying to highlight the connection between Trump's political rhetoric and the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

"A president's words matter," Walz said, before repeating it again: "A president's words matter."

For now, Walz's words don't seem to be hurting him in the national polls. His favorability rating has grown by more than 9 percentage points since Harris picked him on Aug. 6, according to polling averages collected by ABC News and FiveThirtyEight.

The Harris campaign is also doubling down on Walz. They've been sending him out even more to speak in front of large crowds and even more TV cameras, where the questions inevitably come back to whether his words matter too. Appearing on CBS' 60 Minutes earlier this week, correspondent Bill Whitaker asked Walz point blank whether he can be trusted.

"Ya, well, I can, I think I can," Walz replied. "I will own up to being a knucklehead at times, but the folks closest to me know that I keep my word."

Walz during the interview revealed even more about how his language has been a factor during the campaign. Pressed on whether he and Harris disagree on anything, Walz responded: "She said, 'Tim, yunno, you need to be a little more careful on how you say things, whatever it might be." Laughing, Walz added, "I think folks know who I am, and I think they know the difference between someone expressing emotion, telling a story, getting a date wrong by a - rather than a pathological liar like Donald Trump."

During the Sacramento, California, fundraiser where Walz made his comments about the Electoral College, he told the Democratic donors that his days of teaching are sometimes to blame.

"I'm a schoolteacher, so I have an inclination to just answer the damn question," he said, according to reporters traveling with the vice presidential candidate. "The first advice they give you is: 'Oh, don't answer the question. Pivot! Pivot as quick as you can!'"

More: The new 'Swift Boat?' Tim Walz's military service targeted by Trump campaign

Policy over polish

USA TODAY spoke with voters supporting both Trump and Harris who say Walz's exaggerations and gaffes aren't at the top of their priority list.

"Everybody has these misspeaks, they're just part of public speaking, everybody's nervous," said Andrew Feys, a 21-year-old from Negaunee, Michigan, who plans to cast his first-ever presidential vote for Trump.

Walz's tendency to stumble over his words makes him more human, not less trustworthy, Feys said. Even so, policy is top of mind and he's planning to support the Republican because of issues like the cost of living and border control - not because Walz is straying from prepared speeches or talking points.

"Things like that wouldn't disqualify someone from being president," he said. "Trump has had his fair share of mumble jumbles and misspeaks as well."

Mary Brabazon, a 60-year-old retired corrections officer from Muncy, Pennsylvania, and a former Trump supporter told USA TODAY that Walz's gaffes could be a product of being new to the limelight.

"I do feel he's a candidate that you can be depended upon to get a job done," she said.

A self-described independent who preferred Nikki Haley during the 2024 Republican primaries, Brabazon said she's most focused in the general election on picking a candidate who can help the working class while bringing positivity and order back to the White House, even if people on the ticket aren't perfect. She said she hopes policies like the ones Walz led in Minnesota on paid family and medical leave are reflected in his work as a possible vice president.

While Brabazon said Walz should be more careful, she added that her decision this November comes down to voting for a ticket with someone who trips on their words unintentionally rather than someone who won't admit when they are wrong.

"I can accept when Tim Walz says, 'OK I misspoke, this is what I meant,'" she said.

— Sam Woodward is the Minnesota elections reporting fellow for USA TODAY focusing on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's candidacy. You can reach her at [email protected], on X @woodyreports, and on Threads @samjowoody.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: As Tim Walz powers through gaffes, will the Harris ticket take a hit?