Checklist: Critique Walz’s credibility, recount the insult and his response, note his past rhetoric and inconsistencies, place this in the context of real public safety concerns, and include the original quoted statements and embeds.
Gov. Tim Walz has turned a crude insult from President Trump into a full-on victim narrative, and the timing is everything. With multiple fraud scandals dogging Minnesota state government, Walz’s media performance reads like a distraction play, designed to shift attention away from real governance problems. The insult—harsh and offensive to many—did not come out of nowhere, but the reaction from Walz has a political spin that deserves scrutiny. This piece looks at what Walz emphasized and, more importantly, what he left out.
The tweet in question called Walz “The seriously retarded Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, does nothing, either through fear, incompetence, or both.” That line is blunt and ugly and it rightly angers people who care about decency. But context matters: Minnesota is wrestling with fraud scandals that implicate state systems and officials, and those scandals have a much bigger impact on Minnesotans than playground insults. Responding to slurs while ignoring substantive failures looks like political theater.
Walz used the insult to make a broader point about public safety and civility, claiming the language creates danger and predicting escalation. He said, “This creates danger. And I’ll tell you what, in my time on this, I’d never seen this before. People driving by my house and using the R-word in front of people. This is shameful. And I have yet to see an elected official, a Republican elected official, say, ‘You’re right. That’s shameful. He should not say it.’ So, look, I’m worried. We know how these things go. They start with taunts, they turn to violence. So, deeply concerned.” Those are powerful words and they deserve serious consideration on their face. But they also sit next to a year of Walz rhetoric that complicates his moral high ground.
Over the last year, Walz repeatedly used extreme language about his political opponents, at times comparing federal officers and immigration enforcement actions to historical horrors. Those comparisons lower the bar for incendiary talk across the political spectrum, yet Walz now positions himself as the offended party demanding elevated tone from others. When a politician swings wildly between escalation and outrage, voters have to ask which statements match real priorities and which are performative.
There is also the matter of past comments that suggested he welcomed bad news about President Trump, which undercuts claims of unique moral concern. Walz reportedly said in August at a Labor Day picnic, “Look I get it, you get up in the morning and you doom scroll through things, although I will say this, the last few days you woke up thinking there might be news,” eliciting a laugh from the crowd in a reference to recent online conspiracy theories about Trump’s health with some claiming that he had died. “Just saying, just saying, there will be news sometime, just so you know, there will be news.” Those remarks were striking and made his later alarm about threats and rhetoric feel inconsistent.
Beyond words, the country has seen real violence: there were two assassination attempts on President Trump in 2024, one of which nearly succeeded, and the tragic killing of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk in September 2025. Attacks on institutions such as Tesla dealerships and ICE facilities have also been reported. In a climate where violence is not hypothetical, everybody should be careful with rhetoric. But care should not be a cover for avoiding accountability on administrative failings tied to Minnesota fraud investigations.
It is entirely legitimate to call out slurs and to insist on decency in public life. But that demand rings hollow when the same speaker has trafficked in overheated, dehumanizing language that contributes to the toxic environment he now deplores. The public deserves both moral clarity and consistent leadership—words alone do not substitute for fixing systems, answering questions, and restoring trust in government operations. Walz can object to insults while still being held accountable for the deeper issues in his administration.
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Politics is about more than who gets offended loudest on cable TV. Minnesotans want results: transparent investigations, reforms that prevent fraud, and leaders who focus on solving problems rather than staging outrage cycles. The insult may headline the story, but the fallout from mismanaged state systems is what will hurt people’s wallets and livelihoods long after the tweets are forgotten.
It should not be hard for Walz to prove that he is not retarded. All he has to do is list one thing he did that was intelligent–like putting tampon dispensers in the boys’ bathrooms in Minnesota schools. That should do the trick.