'Train Wreck' Walz wants to be President

 Federalist Wire:

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Tim Walz, the Democratic governor of Minnesota, is emerging as a top contender for his party’s 2028 presidential nomination—and that’s a disaster in the making for Democrats. Fresh off a crushing defeat in the 2024 election cycle, the party is flailing to rediscover its footing, and Walz’s recent musings only expose the cracks in its foundation. In a candid interview with New York Magazine published Monday, Walz branded himself a “train wreck” at times, a self-assessment that might just stick as the Democrats grapple with their identity crisis.

“I think we’re cautious by nature,” Walz told the outlet, critiquing his party’s timid approach to reconnecting with voters. “And look, I said this and I told the vice president, I said I know my strengths and weaknesses. I said about 90% of the time, I can be really good, but about 10% of the time, I can be a train wreck because I’m speaking from the heart, like a teacher sitting in a teachers lounge or a laborer sitting at the break table.” It’s a folksy admission, sure, but it’s also a glaring red flag. A party desperate to rebuild its appeal can’t afford a leader who proudly touts his penchant for derailment, even if it’s only 10% of the time.

Walz’s take on the 2024 loss stings with irony. “I thought they would choose the district attorney and the teacher over the hedge-fund manager and the billionaire,” he said, referring to his ticket with Kamala Harris that crashed and burned against Donald Trump and his running mate. The voters didn’t just reject the teacher—they sent a clear message that the Democrats’ pitch isn’t landing.

Walz seems to sense this, pointing to a lack of ambition in the party’s messaging. “I don’t — look, the folks who voted for Trump are going to vote for Trump,” he said. “My biggest concern is the folks who stayed home. And that goes back to this idea of what the Democratic Party is, who’s standing with us, and ‘Who do I identify more with?’ Maybe we’re not aspirational.”

He’s onto something there, but his examples only deepen the problem. “I heard this from someone who said, ‘With Democratic go-to messages, basically to Black men, these Democratic politicians led with ‘We restored felon voting rights,’ and the Black men said, ‘But we’re not felons, we’re MBAs looking for capital,’” Walz recounted. “The restoration of felon voting rights is important — I did that in Minnesota — but it’s not aspirational. With Donald Trump, everything’s gold-plated and he’s hanging around with these stars, and I don’t know if we do enough of that.” It’s a damning contrast: Trump’s glitzy allure versus the Democrats’ dour fixation on niche policy wins. If Walz is the future, he’s already admitting the party’s stuck in the past.

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Neither Walz nor Kamala Harris were good candidates in 2024. They had to defend the really lousy record of the Biden-Harris administration, which led to rampant inflation at home and war in Europe. Trump's first term was much better than the Biden Harris fiasco.