Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has received a mocking new nickname now that he’s soaking up the political limelight: “Tampon Tim”.
After being announced as Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate in the 2024 US presidential election, Mr Walz has rapidly become an invaluable political asset to the Democrats’ campaign.
Harris’ rival for the White House, former president Donald Trump, and his supporters have unsurprisingly sought to discredit him.
So who is Tim Walz and why are his detractors calling him “Tampon Tim”?
Here’s all you need to know.
Who is Tim Walz?
Mr Walz is a politician who has been Minnesota's 41st governor since 2019.
The 60-year-old and his three siblings grew up in Valentine, Nebraska, a rural community in midwestern America.
He spent summers farming and hunting before joining the Army National Guard aged 17. He also spent 24 years in the volunteer force.
Equipped with a teaching degree, Mr Walz taught for one year in China.
Once back in Nebraska, Mr Walz worked as a teacher and American football coach at Alliance High School. His wife Gwen Whipple — another teacher at the school — encouraged him to move to her home state of Minnesota.
Mr Walz then helped Mankato West High School in Minnesota win its first state American football championship in 1999.
He also received praise for becoming the faculty adviser for the school's gay-straight alliance when homosexuality was generally not accepted.His first political contest was in a predominantly rural, Republican-leaning district in southern Minnesota that is primarily agricultural.Mr Walz caused an upset in the election by running as a moderate who cared about veterans' causes and public service.
He was elected Minnesota governor in November 2018, winning by a margin of more than 11 points, and took up his role in January 2019.
Mr Walz was re-elected for a second term in November 2022, with the Democrats controlling the state legislature by a single seat.
Largely unknown, he has recently garnered attention for his caustic portrayals of Republicans.He told MSNBC: “These are weird people on the other side. They want to ban books. They want to be in your [doctor's] exam room.”
Why are Republicans calling Tim Walz 'Tampon Tim'?
The Republicans are using the nickname “Tampon Tim” to highlight a bill that Mr Walz signed into law. Since January 1, 2024, the law has mandated that menstruation supplies be available to school students.
It decrees that supplies such as tampons and pads “must be available to all menstruating students in restrooms regularly used by students in grades four to 12 according to a plan developed by the school district”.
The law has been widely celebrated. Minnesota is one of 28 states with legislation granting children access to menstruation supplies.
Republicans, however, objected to the legislation's wording, which admits that not all women have periods and that not everyone who menstruates is a woman. Attempts by some challengers to restrict the rule to just women's and gender-neutral restrooms were unsuccessful.
Speaking on Fox News, Mr Trump’s campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said: “As a woman, I think there is no greater threat to our health than leaders who support gender-transition surgeries for young minors, who support putting tampons in men’s bathrooms in public schools.“Those are radical policies that Tim Walz supports. He actually signed a bill to do that.”
“Tim Walz is a weird radical liberal,” the MAGA War Room account posted on X, formerly Twitter. “What could be weirder than signing a bill requiring schools to stock tampons in boys' bathrooms?”
“Tampon Tim is hands down the best political nickname ever,” tweeted conservative commentator Liz Wheeler. “It’s so… savagely effective. In one word tells you EVERYTHING you need to know about Tim Walz’s dangerous radicalism.”
But LGBTQ rights organisations have celebrated Mr Walz's appointment and commended his record. This includes a 2023 executive order that positioned Minnesota as one of the pioneering states to protect access to gender-affirming health care amid a growing number of states attempting to restrict it.
Mr Walz has not yet commented on his new nickname.
But former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said it was “nice of the Trump camp to help publicize Gov. Tim Walz’s compassionate and common-sense policy,” adding, “Let’s do this everywhere.”
Former Georgia State Representative Bee Nguyen said Mr Walz, as an ex-teacher, understands poor access to menstrual products affects education.
“This makes me an even bigger fan of Tampon Tim,” she added.
