GREEN BAY, Wis. – In the weeks since the vice presidential debate, Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Waltz is sounding more like an aggressive campaigner who has embraced the role than the buttoned-down figure he cut after joining the ticket.
On Monday, Walz, dressed in khakis and a navy Harris-Walz T-shirt, delivered his sharpest attacks yet on former President Donald Trump. After ditching the blue sport coat and white collared shirt he’s favored over the past few months, Walz has looked more natural in recent appearances on the trail, including in his signature flannel in rural Pennsylvania.
After Walz labeled the GOP ticket “weird” and went for a viral running mate pick, he’s back on television with appearances on “The View” and “The Daily Show,” a campaign official said. “In an interview with cable news.
“I got an interview or two from being a regular on Fox News,” Walz said Tuesday at a campaign stop in Valencia, Pennsylvania. The Democrat appeared on “Fox News Sunday” two weekends in a row, and he said he’s back to speak directly to undecided voters watching the channel at a campaign stop.
It’s part of what the Harris-Walz campaign says will be a “more aggressive” approach to campaigning for the Minnesota governor after her debate with Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance earlier this month. Before that, he was almost entirely absent from television after becoming the Democratic vice-presidential candidate and avoiding answering questions from the media.
In the past few weeks, Walz has been attacking swing states, appearing on multiple media platforms and sharpening his attacks on the Trump-Vance ticket.
“Donald Trump was talking over the weekend about using the US military against people who disagree with him,” Walz said. “He called it the enemy within, and according to Donald Trump, anyone who disagrees with him is the enemy. I’m not telling you to scare you or anything, I’m telling you to whip his ass and put this guy behind us. It must be done.”
Walz often spoke about Trump’s age on the campaign trail, describing him as “about 80 years old” — one of the many ways the Democratic presidential campaign has changed since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. This week, Walz said he had not released Trump’s medical records, 78, because he had “forgotten”.
“If that was your grandfather, you’d take the keys,” Walz said while campaigning in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, referring to Trump’s choice to play music instead of answering town hall questions at a rally in Pennsylvania on Monday.
Walz is still a part of many local TV and radio hits a day, appearing on podcasts and even appearing late at night on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
“I wish this thing wasn’t so close,” Walz said at a recent fundraiser in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood. He then referred to something his wife Gwen often told him.
“As my wife says, stop wishing it and do the work,” Walz said.