How Tim Walz Can Help Kamala Harris Win

Joyful Ways He Can Uplift America

The enthusiasm in the Democratic party for adding Governor Tim Walz to the ticket has been nothing short of exhilarating. He adds a near-perfect mixture of affable charm and unpretentious trustworthiness to the campaign and is already a great messenger to outreach to rural areas and working class populations.

As a Minnesotan, I’m proud that we’ve offered up such a good man and happy warrior to advance the cause.

So how can he best help Kamala Harris win? Here are some ideas:

First, have him be the clear point person on the team for exposing Trump for all the ways that he is, well, weird. As a man who oversaw lunch room shenanigans, football teams, and military units, Coach Walz understands the ways that men posture as a way to instill fear in others and establish dominance. By calling out Trump in a fun and straightforward way, even joyfully, Walz effectively dissolves the specter of fear which Trump uses to reinforce his power. On his side, Trump is unable to restrain himself from challenges to his ego and he will simply have to punch back at Walz. It’s his nature. Instead of having the Vice President engage at that level, it is better for her to stand above the exchanges and let Coach Walz deal with Trump the way he has learned to do with past bullies: minimize their power with loving truthtelling and good-natured humor. By “punching down” at Walz’s commentary, Trump will lower his status in the dominance hierarchy. Let Walz be the lead provocateur with Trump and people will start to fear Trump less, which is then empowering for people to get more engaged.

Second, reflect regularly on the laudable, noble, and impressive leadership qualities he sees in Vice President Harris. The more Tim publicly allows himself to be authentically wowed by her, the more permission he creates for others, particularly older white men, to hold her in more positive light. His admiration for her, coming from a relatable “everyman,” gives permission for more people to really respect the VP’s skills as a leader. Since Coach Walz has a 24-year Army history, comparing the attributes he sees in Harris with the kinds of skills cultivated by Army leadership would be particularly valuable since the Commander in Chief role is probably most fraught with residual bias against women. To have a respected senior enlisted officer laud her leadership, particularly in terms of the leadership skills they sought to cultivate in the military, would be a great value add.

Third, let Coach Walz become the performance coach for the campaign, talking with people up and down to get their ideas, increase their commitment, and rally their best. His resume is perfect for someone who calls out top performance in others and I think he will effectively bring that energy into his White House role as well. Give him the microphone to rally the team as often as possible and he will lift the energy, commitment, and discipline in the campaign.

Fourth, have him introduce and build upon some of the playful memes designed to diminish Trump’s power through humor. For instance, what if he were to call for the establishment of a “Crazy Uncle” video contest for funny media that shows Trump in parallel with odd uncle behaviors - an interspersing of funny grassroots videos with Trump moments? I could also see his weird theme developed into a social media series, with a new example from every stump speech. “What’s so weird about Donald is…..(buildup of anticipation)…. the way he fixates on crowd size! I mean, in my experience, insecure guys might focus on the size of their truck’s engine or maybe their hands, but to spend month after month griping about the size of the crowd at his inauguration is just plain… weird!” By having a repeating structure for the “weirdness” it would become more memorable and meme-able. He could pick apart different aspects of Donald Trump’s eccentricities that are often strategies for him to exaggerate power, status, or money and make them funny (and encourage others to do the same). By continuing to bring his “Dad joke” skills into the campaign, he could undermine the appeal of Trump without menace, fear or animosity, and better mobilize the online army of memers around themes that can make people laugh. The same can be done with Vance but my sense is that the more Walz focuses on Trump and treats Vance as the “JV team” by virtually ignoring him the better.

Finally, I could envision a series of Cornfield Talks or something akin that has a spirit of fun in which he relates lessons he learned from growing up in small farming communities in Nebraska and shows how those values and beliefs connect directly to progressive government policies designed to take better care of our neighbors and create a decent society. Rural areas have been particularly prone to support Trump and to have Walz do a series of talks from cornfields or rural areas that are intimate, funny, and relatable and that really connect to why Democratic policies are more in alignment with small-town values would be quite powerful. This would further undermine the grip of a New York billionaire on small town psychology and show why the Republican party isn’t an authentic expression of small town values that look out for the little guy, respect nature’s rhythms, and support the health of the whole community.

Personally, I’m so excited to see what Governor Walz contributes to the campaign as he is clearly so authentic, relatable, and naturally funny. He’s going to keep amplifying the joy and showing how to put the Trump chapter of our nation’s history in the rearview mirror with a positive attitude rather than fear.