Former President Trump called Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz (D), a “crank” at a rally in Montana on Friday night.
“Tim Walz is a very strange man. He’s a very strange person,” Trump said during an event in Bozeman, Montana, just hours after his plane was diverted due to mechanical issues.
“If Comrade Waltz and Comrade [Vice President] “If Harris wins in November, the pink-haired Marxists, looters, perverts, flag burners, Hamas supporters, drug dealers, gun grabbers and human traffickers will be cheering,” he added, drawing cheers and laughter from the crowd.
Harris’ latest rebuke of the Minnesota governor comes after Harris named Walz as her running mate earlier this week after intense speculation about who she would choose. Walz has garnered enthusiasm and support from key Democratic allies since entering the running as Biden’s running mate late last month after Biden withdrew his candidacy.
The Harris-Waltz campaign has made a concerted effort to portray Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), as “crazy people.” The former president wasted no time in denouncement of the insult, and he used the same term back at his Democratic rivals.
“Then he said, ‘I think J.D. Vance is weird,'” Trump said, referring to Waltz, who originated the comment. “That’s the term they use. I think that’s what he calls me. No, we’re not weirdos, we’re very solid people.”
“It has to be said,” Walz said at a rally in Philadelphia earlier this week.
“You know it. You feel it. These people are creepy and just super weird,” the Democratic governor said. “That’s what you’re seeing.”
“If Trump gets the chance to come back, he will pick up where he left off four years ago, only this time it will be much worse,” he added.
Democrats across the ideological spectrum of the party, from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) to Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colorado), have widely praised the choice of Walz as Harris’ running mate.
“Governor Tim Walz has long championed the cause of ending child poverty,” Bennett said in a post on social platform X on Tuesday. “Together, we will put the governor and Vice President Harris in the White House and build an economy that grows for all people, not just those at the top.”
The Hill has reached out to the Harris campaign.
