Tim Walz mocked for assuming his lack of wealth was a 'real flex' against 'billionaire' Donald Trump

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is doing some serious soul-searching after his vice-presidential bid alongside Kamala Harris came up short in the 2024 election.

In a candid interview with Minnesota Public Radio, the 60-year-old revealed his disbelief that middle-class Americans—struggling with economic hardships—chose billionaire Donald Trump over what he described as a "middle-class ticket" of a high school teacher (himself) and a country attorney (Harris).

Tim Walz can't believe he and Kamala Harris lost to 'billionaire' Donald Trump

Tim Walz seemed genuinely befuddled, trying to figure out the disconnect between his campaign's message and the voters they were trying to win over. 

"I thought it was a real flex when the Wall Street Journal pointed out that I might have been the least wealthy person to ever run for vice president," he told MPR News. The governor believed his modest financial background would resonate with middle-class voters.

"How in the world did we lose to a billionaire or a venture capitalist, when we were making the case of a country attorney and a high school teacher?" he asked. "And I thought that would be something people say, ‘Well, this guy knows where we’re coming from. He’s had to pay his bills and still does,'" Walz said, describing himself.

Yet, the voters sided with Trump—someone Walz framed as out of touch with middle-class struggles.

Tim Walz admits they failed to communicate their ticket's middle-class appeal effectively

The sting of the loss is clearly hitting Tim Walz hard. "And this is the one that keeps me up at night," he admitted, adding, "I focused my whole career on the middle class… And it seemed like a lot of good ideas were coming from the Democrats. I still believe that, but apparently, in this election, not the majority of Americans did."

Walz pointed to Trump’s record—allegations of not paying overtime, a history of not paying workers, and plans to dismantle the Affordable Care Act—as evidence that his ticket should have been the obvious choice for working-class Americans. "They chose to vote with a billionaire," he remarked, still stunned.

He concluded that the Democratic campaign simply didn’t communicate its middle-class appeal effectively. "So, I come back to the conclusion, is we did not do a good enough job – we as a Democratic Party and we as a ticket – did not do a good enough job of showing them that we understand where they’re coming from," the governor said.

"And I feel like one of my roles is – going forward here is – figuring out a way to make the case to the public, the American public, is that the Democratic Party really is focused on the things they care about," the father of two added.

Walz previously admitted during an interview with Minnesota's KSTP-TV that he was caught off guard by the election results.

"It felt like at the rallies, at the things I was going to, the shops I was going in, that the momentum was going our way, and it obviously wasn’t at the end. So yeah, I was a little surprised. I thought we had a positive message and I thought the country was ready for that," he said. 

Tim Walz mocked for assuming that him being one of the least wealthy people to ever run for VP would be a 'real flex'

While Tim Walz reflected on what might have gone wrong with their campaign, netizens had a field day with his remarks, especially his apparent pride in being one of the least wealthy vice-presidential candidates in recent history.

One wrote, "So he thought he was 'flexing' by virtue signaling his relative poverty? Maybe don't spend all your money going to China Tim." 

"Nothing about Tim AWalz is a flex, let's just be honest," a person remarked, while someone else declared, "The words 'flex' and 'Tim Walz' should not be in the same sentence." 

An individual pointed out, "The 'flex' may have been underscored by the fact that Kamala frequently wore a $70,000 Tiffany's necklace while campaigning." 

"He has free housing, he and his wife have an income higher than most of the people in the country and have hundreds of thousands socked away in retirement accounts. In addition, he'll have a generous government pension. You won't see the Walz family at the free soup kitchen!" one more argued. 

A follower of the president-elect wrote, "Trump knows real flexing isn't about being poor, it's about making America rich again!"  

Another person simply stated, "It’s not about money. It’s about merit." 

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