Governor Tim Walz reportedly described himself as the “anti-Tommy Tuberville” at a fundraising event in Boston on Thursday night.
The Context
Minnesota Governor Walz has seen his profile surge since he was announced as Kamala Harris‘s 2024 vice presidential running mate earlier this month.
Walz previously coached football at Minnesota’s Mankato West High School, where, according to the Associated Press, his team won the state championship in 1999.
Arkansas Senator Tuberville had an extensive career as a football head coach before entering politics, with a 159-99 record over 21 seasons, 14 of which were spent in the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
What We Know
Walz was quoted as saying: “I feel like one of my roles in this now is to be the anti-Tommy Tuberville, to show that football coaches are not the dumbest people.”
HuffPost senior politics reporter Igor Bobic and NBC News Washington D.C. correspondent Yamiche Alcindor reported the incident, citing the White House press pool.
Newsweek reached out to Tuberville, Walz and Harris’s presidential campaign for comment via email on Thursday outside of regular office hours.
Cody Sargent, Tuberville’s former press secretary, hit back at Walz on X, commenting: “You’re a former high school *assistant* coach now overseeing a massive decline in student performance as governor.
“Senator Tuberville is a 5x national Coach of the Year and 7x conference champion. So, no, Tim Walz, you’re no Coach Tuberville.”
Since being selected as Harris’s 2024 running mate, Walz, who spent 24 years in the Army National Guard, has been criticized by prominent Republicans over his service record.
In a post on X, Ohio Senator JD Vance, Trump’s 2024 running mate, said Walz had “lied” about serving in a combat zone and resigning from the Minnesota National Guard shortly after his battalion was told it could be deployed to Iraq in 2005.
Walz said he resigned so he could run for Congress, and according to the Minnesota National Guard, his resignation was submitted before the deployment plans were announced.
A recent Big Village Caravan survey of 181 voters aged between 18 and 26 found Walz had a net favorability rating of minus 3.4 in this age group, placing him substantially behind Harris and Trump, who had positive ratings of 11.1 and 2.7 points, respectively.
Views
Walz’s remark sparked a mixed reaction from X users, with one commenting: “Tommy Tuberville was a college football head coach who won an SEC title and was AP and SEC Coach of the Year in 2004. Tim Walz was an ASSISTANT high school football coach. If anyone is dumb, it’s Tim Walz for comparing his football credentials to Tuberville.”
Another X user wrote, “Tuberville was a collegiate HC for 21 seasons with 159-99 record. Tim Walz was an assistant HS football coach. Talk about stolen valor comparing yourself as a coach.”
Donny Ferguson, an X user from Virginia, wrote: “1) Walz is absolutely a coach.
“2) Tuberville is a national champion who helped coach one of A&M’s best seasons and beat the Longhorns by 24 in Austin. Instantly makes him one of the smartest people in the Senate.”
“You’ve gotta love this guy,” an X user posted, referring to Walz. “He’s got the coach vote sewn up.”
Update 8/15/24, 9:40 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
