Kamala Harris’ 2024 campaign thought Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz could win over white male voters.

“I could code-talk to white guys watching football, fixing their truck,” Walz said at a Harvard Kennedy School forum on April 29, calling himself a “permission structure” for them to vote Democrat.

But critics say he was the worst guy for the job, pointing to his awkward moments and progressive policies that turned off the very group he was supposed to reach.

Walz, a former teacher and National Guard vet, seemed like an odd choice from the start. In 2023, he signed a bill putting free tampons in school bathrooms—boys’ rooms included—claiming to support transgender kids.

Conservatives dubbed him “Tampon Tim,” seeing it as a sign of how out-of-touch he was with rural, working-class guys. His campaign stunts didn’t help. At one rally, he threw on an orange hunting vest and pretended to shoot a shotgun. It felt forced, like he was playing a part instead of being real.

Then there was the “stolen valor” mess. Walz said he carried weapons “in war,” but he never saw combat in his 24 years in the Guard. The Harris campaign admitted he “misspoke,” but the damage was done. Veterans and blue-collar men, a big chunk of the white male vote, didn’t trust him after that.

Walz’s progressive record made things worse. He backed expansive LGBTQ+ rights and took heat for being too soft during the 2020 Minneapolis riots.

The Trump campaign called his policies a “threat to women’s health” during the campaign, painting him as a coastal elite. Meanwhile, Trump was winning over young guys on platforms like Joe Rogan’s podcast—something Walz couldn’t counter.

Even his personality felt off. Walz loved to talk about drinking Diet Mountain Dew, sharing a story about Katy Perry scolding him for it on the campaign trail. It made him sound strange, not tough. “I think I scare them a little bit,” he claimed at Harvard, saying his ability to “fix a truck” made him a threat. But critics like Caitlin Jenner weren’t buying it, joking in 2024 that she was “more masculine” than Walz.

Walz is on a “listening tour” now, but he’s ruled out running in 2028. The Atlantic noted in April 2025 that he “seems to miss the trail.” For the white guys he was supposed to win over, though, his exit might be a relief. Harris’ plan to use Walz to “code talk” to them flopped—he definitely wasn’t the right guy.