Tim Walz likened to ‘Gavin Newsom in a flannel shirt’

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer summed up Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) in a rather distinct manner when he said Kamala Harris’ running mate is “Gavin Newsom in a flannel shirt.”

Emmer, a Republican from Minnesota, knows better than most just how alike Walz and the California governor are and his opinion may carry more weight than expected, given that he was part of the team preparing Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) for his Tuesday night debate with Walz.

“I’ve known Tim, oh, probably since he was first elected almost 20 years ago. And I worked with him directly for four years,” Emmer said Sunday during an appearance on ABC News’ This Week. “I spent the last month just going back, all of his old stuff to get his phrases down, his mannerisms, that sort of thing. My job was to be able to play Tim Walz so J.D. Vance knows what he’s going to see.”

“Tim’s been a complete disaster in Minnesota,” he continued. “And what’s happened is, he’s so good at being this folksy, nice, kind of down-to-earth guy until people get to know him and his policies. I don’t know if you noticed, but his whole congressional district, where he played this character for several years of being kind of a folksy, ag-friendly, outdoorsman — he lost it in both of his gubernatorial races. In the last one, almost by 10 points. He’s not well-liked because once you get to know the real Tim Walz, he’s like Gavin Newsom in a flannel shirt.”

Emmer dismissed polling showing that Walz has better favorability ratings than Vance, insisting Donald Trump’s veep selection “is very likable, and I think he’s well-liked.”

“And I don’t buy into these snapshot polls that are being done for a specific reason,” he said. “If you’re not willing … to agree that Tim Walz, once people get to know who he is and they know what his policies are, he’s more radical than Kamala Harris.”

“People do not like him once they get to know him. And JD will expose that on Tuesday,” Emmer added.

Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story, as seen on X:

Tom Tillison

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