Tim Walz Has Some Scathing New Nicknames For Trump (& They Make 'Weird' Look Tame)

Tim Walz had a lot to say about Kamala Harris losing the 2024 election to Donald Trump. In an interview with local affiliate KSTP after Trump's decisive victory, the Minnesota governor admitted being "surprised," explaining, "I thought we had a positive message, and I thought our country was ready for that." Less than two weeks after the inauguration, Walz had another message, and this one was anything but positive. The governor spoke at a press conference at a St. Paul YMCA, where he addressed the administration's controversial freeze on federal grants and loans. (The Office of Management and Budget is examining whether the affected agencies fund "foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal," per Forbes.) Walz blasted the president, saying (via Heartland Signal), "Donald Trump's reckless action cut off funding to law enforcement, farmers, schools, child care, veterans and health care. While he was out golfing, he threw the country into crisis." 

Trump could barely hide his insecurity over Walz calling him "weird" during the campaign, so one can only imagine what his response might be to the governor's added criticism, which went way beyond that mild epithet. "This is not bold. This is not leadership," Walz went on. "It's stupid, buffoonish, childish of exactly what they did." Calling the act unconstitutional, he accused Trump of not realizing exactly what it would mean for the people who rely on the affected institutions. "No wonder Trump University went broke. They can't manage a damn thing. ...this is just buffoonish," he repeated.

Online reaction to Walz's statement ranged from cheers to clapback. Trump supporters applauded the freeze and pointed to the budget blunders of the Kamala Harris campaign. "He calls someone a buffoon?" one said. "Time for some serious self evaluation."

Up till now, Gov. Tim Walz had been keeping mum about President Donald Trump's official actions. He did, however, poke a bit of fun at the president's decision to hold his inauguration ceremony inside the Capitol due to the cold; showing his Minnesotan hardiness, he tweeted, "There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing." But his latest zing at the "buffoon" president indicates a potential four-year showdown between the two men. During the campaign, Trump also frequently referred to Walz as "Tampon Tim," a reference to his instituting a state law mandating that free menstrual products be provided in all public schools. In an interview with "Fox & Friends" (per Politico), the then-candidate also called him "a terrible governor" who didn't deserve to be a heartbeat from the presidency. "They call him coach," Trump snarked. "He is a semi-coach if he coached some football for a little while. This guy is a lightweight."

As of this writing, Trump hasn't responded to Walz's insults. His Truth Social account of late has been largely comprised of self-promoting memes, with occasional reminders he's ushering in the "Golden Age of America." Then there was one odd "Thank you President Trump" message — to himself — for what he described as "[turning] on the water" in California. (The state begs to differ.) But knowing the president's history of schoolyard taunts, it shouldn't be long before he fires back a reaction. After all, during the vice-presidential debate, Trump betrayed where his attention really was: He remarked online that Walz was "nervous and 'weird,'" repeating the word the governor had used to describe him weeks earlier. Will Trump revive the "weird" theme? Throw back the "buffoon" label? Or does he have a new nasty adjective up his sleeve?