In her first solo campaign event, Gwen Waltz, wife of vice presidential candidate Governor Tim Walz (Democrat, Minnesota), criticized former President Trump over in vitro fertilization (IVF) and rebuked running mate Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).
“I am so proud to be a Harris educator,” Waltz said. She began to speak Manassas, Virginia
Before becoming Minnesota's first lady, Walz was an English teacher and said teaching was one of her “passions.” She is now campaigning for her husband, Vice President Harris, to be elected.
The Waltzes have been open about their struggle to conceive. After trying for years, they frequently slam the Republican Party for its support of IVF and women's reproductive rights. They say there's a reason they named their first daughter “Hope.”
Vance has come under fire during the campaign for his comments on family planning and single people, saying people without children have less of a stake in the country's future and mocking “childless cat ladies.”
In his Friday speech, Gov. Walz addressed the resurfacing of comments made by Gov. Vance in which he criticized people who are teachers but don't have children of their own.
“I read that J.D. Vance said he was very troubled by teachers who don't have biological children. For a long time, Tim and I were teachers who struggled with infertility and were able to start a family thanks to fertility treatments,” Waltz said. “So this is really personal for me and I think it is for millions of Americans. We're not comfortable with someone like J.D. Vance dictating when and how we should start a family.”
Waltz then put his reading glasses on the brim of his nose and said, “Let me use your voice, teacher.”
“Mr. Vance, why don't you focus on yourself?” she said firmly.
Walz said Trump is trying to rewrite his record on reproductive rights and said teachers believe in telling the truth.
“These are the facts, and there is no alternative,” she said. “Donald Trump is the person who overturned Roe and put IVF access at risk. These are the facts. And he has policies that put these treatments at risk nationwide. These are the facts.”
“But he knows that his position is extremely unpopular, and guess what? It's a fact,” Walz continued.
