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Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz took to TikTok to talk gutters on Tuesday - noting that this aspect of home ownership often remains “neglected”, when asked for his hot take.
The Minnesota governor hit peak Midwestern Dad stride on the show Subway Takes. Hosted by Kareem Rahma, video clips involve asking people on the New York subway to share their opinions on something that may be controversial or unpopular.
“My take is the most neglected part of home ownership is the gutters,” Kamala Harris running mate said. “It’s personal for me.”
“I’ve had problems with gutters before, you get your basement wet, you get ice dams,” he added. “It caused a lot of problems.”
Walz then lauded the beauty of Minnesota in the fall before discussing the dangers of gutter maintenance.
“I’ve seen many a man fall off a ladder,” Rahma said.
The VP nominee went on to recommend a “gutter helmet” to prevent leaves from getting into the troughs.
“I try not to be judgemental on people, but when I see a well-tended gutter, it says a lot about somebody,” Walz said to laughter from Rahma.
When asked if he preferred a well-tended lawn or having the gutters taken care of, Walz didn’t hesitate.
“I’d go with the gutters ... I think gutters are a big thing, that they really matter,” he said.
The top comment on the video is from Walz himself: “Gutter helmets. Trust me on this one.”
The Harris campaign on TikTok called Walz, “America’s dad.”
“Name a person in the White House in the last 20 years that has personally taken care of gutters. I love this guy,” one commenter wrote.
Harris Deputy Campaign Manager Rob Flaherty shared the Subway Takes episode on X, where it quickly won more than a million views.
“80/20 odds at this point they put Walz on Hot Ones,” one user said.
“There has never been a more dad-coded man than Tim Walz. Pure,” podcaster Patrick Wyman wrote.
“VP Walz is 100 percent going to be on a scissor lift at the Naval Observatory cleaning gutters next year,” another account holder said.
