MINNEAPOLIS — Gov. Tim Walz's stock in presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris' "veepstakes" may be on the rise, and if he's still being taken seriously as a potential running mate, weirder things have happened.
As it turns out, "weird" is the word of the moment in the election cycle. In three separate television interviews over the course of the last week, Walz has described former President Donald Trump, and a number of other Republicans, using that specific term.
"That stuff is weird, they come across weird," Walz said on MSNBC last week. He followed up on CNN Sunday, saying "I see Donald Trump talking about the wonderful Hannibal Lecter or whatever weird thing he is on tonight ... That is weird behavior. I don't think you call it anything else."
Walz is one of three names a recent Bloomberg report claimed are among the most prominent possibilities for the VP spot, along with Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
But Walz's "weird" tag has been grabbing hold among his party, with possibly the ultimate seal of approval coming from Harris herself this weekend in Massachusetts.
"You may have noticed Donald Trump has been resorting to some wild lies about my record, and some of what he and his running mate are saying is just plain weird," she said.
Analysts say Walz has succeeded in labeling Trump in a new way that Democrats believe is working.
"I am sure that Democrats are doing a lot of polling, and this 'weird' language is very effective," political analyst and professor Larry Jacobs said. "Walz has gone from being an obscure Midwestern governor ... if you are thinking about the Olympics of politics, Tim Walz is one of the favorites now."
The final word on the "veepstakes" belongs, of course, to Harris. The other touted candidates have their strengths — Shapiro represents Pennsylvania, which has 19 electoral college votes, and Kelly was an astronaut and U.S. Navy pilot.
Meanwhile, Walz has his small-town background, his years in the National Guard, and years as a schoolteacher, member of Congress, and Minnesota governor. But he also has the clout that comes with coining the "weird" label that more and more Democrats seem thrilled to use against Trump.
The Harris Campaign has said she will choose a running mate by Aug. 7.
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