CHICAGO — Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) heavily touted his background as a teacher, football coach, and former member of the U.S. Army National Guard during his prime-time Wednesday night speech to formally accept the Democratic vice presidential nomination.
Walz, who was a high school football coach, made multiple references and puns to the sport throughout his speech and was frequently met with “Coach Walz” chants. Delegates on the convention floor waved “Coach Walz” signs and his former players wearing their jerseys also took the stage.
“Look, I coached high school football long enough to know, trust me on this, when somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re going to use it,” Walz said, referring to Project 2025, an agenda created by the conservative organization Heritage.
But he also emphasized his family during his speech, recounting his and his wife’s struggles with infertility and calling his family his “entire world.”
“It took Gwen and I years, but we had access to fertility treatments and when our daughter was born, we named her Hope. Hope, Gus and Gwen, you are my entire world and I love you,” Walz said.
Walz’s son, Gus Walz, could be seen crying and yelling “that’s my dad” during his father’s remarks.
Walz has been embroiled in controversy in recent days after his wife, Gwen, released a statement detailing their use of intrauterine insemination. Walz had previously stated in March that he and his wife used a procedure known as in vitro fertilization when they were struggling to have children.
Walz jabbed at former President Donald Trump multiple times during his speech as well.
“You know, when I was teaching every year, we’d elect a student body president. And you know what, those teenagers can teach Donald Trump a hell of a lot,” Walz said.
Walz was formally nominated by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Ben Ingman, a former student and next-door neighbor of the Minnesota governor.
Since being tapped as Vice President Kamala Harris’s No. 2, Walz’s time in the Army National Guard has been heavily scrutinized. Walz’s Republican rival, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), has accused the Democratic vice presidential nominee of lying about his military record and abandoning his unit before it was deployed to Iraq when he retired to run for Congress.
“Kamala Harris, she gets really mad, when I bring up the stolen valor of her running mate but let me tell you why it matters every single person here understands why this matters,” Vance said during a campaign stop. “Here’s the record on Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, he dropped out of the military and allowed his unit to go to Iraq without him. He knew they were going to Iraq, he lied about it, but he knew they were going to Iraq.”
Despite the controversy, in his remarks, Walz touted his military service, saying he joined when he was 17 years old and that he “proudly wore our nation’s uniform for 24 years.”
Walz served 24 years in the Army National Guard before retiring in 2005 just months before his unit got the official order it would be deploying to Iraq. Republicans have accused him of abandoning his unit, and a few members of his unit have publicly expressed resentment that Walz retired when he did.
Controversy about what rank Walz held when he retired has also circulated, as Walz and his allies have inaccurately claimed he retired as a command sergeant major. Walz held the rank of command sergeant major before retiring, however, he did not complete the necessary requirements needed for the position and was reverted back to master sergeant for benefits purposes upon his departure.
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Harris’s campaign website once described Walz as a “retired command sergeant major,” but has since been updated. In a video played Wednesday to introduce her husband, Gwen Walz recounted his military service, saying he “served 24 years in the National Guard, rising to command sergeant major.”
