Walz talks assault rifles, running and beef jerky in national media blitz

Gov. Tim Walz appeared on multiple national media outlets Monday for relaxed interviews with supportive questioners, receiving invitations to play golf with the “SmartLess” podcast hosts and a buffalo plaid flannel shirt from the hosts of ABC’s “The View” that read “Dad in plaid” on the back.

Walz gushed about the shirt, saying it’s “the single greatest thing I’ve ever gotten.” He added, “You know I’m wearing this, right?” Host Ana Navarro encouraged him to return to the show wearing it “when” he and Vice President Kamala Harris win the election.

The governor was in New York City, appearing live on that show and later on a prerecorded episode of “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart that aired at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central. The governor’s previously recorded episode of “SmartLess” also became publicly available Monday morning.

The hosts of all three shows were squarely on Team Harris-Walz. The governor entered to a roar of applause from “The Daily Show” studio audience.

“Must be nice,” Stewart quipped before digging in on some policy points and asking how Walz felt he was doing with the undecided voters he’s trying to win over.

“These are folks who want to find a reason to not vote for Donald Trump. We need to give them that,” Walz said.

Stewart took issue with the campaign’s ongoing embrace of former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz, two Republicans who endorsed Harris. He added that “rifle safety” was a key qualification for the vice presidency, a reference to when Cheney accidentally shot a hunting partner in the face.

“We’re a big tent,” Walz said.

Asked about his biggest achievement as governor, Walz said it was implementing government-funded school meals.

“You’re either going to buy school buses and school meals or prison buses and prison meals,” Walz said of the need to put resources into school and childhood programs.

The “SmartLess” hosts raved about Walz’s everyman appeal. Co-host Will Arnett told the governor that his “authentic self shines through.”

Co-host Jason Bateman asked what can be the “big give,” an olive branch that a Harris-Walz administration would give to those who didn’t support them. Walz said, “She said it, and I agree with her: She needs to appoint a Republican to the Cabinet.”

The governor mentioned two conservatives he respects: former Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona who’s “as honest as anything” and Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, whom he called one of the most honorable men he knows. “They are ethical, and they care about this country,” Walz said.

Along with co-host Sean Hayes, the “SmartLess” crew asked about governor’s sleep schedule, fitness habits and his favorite snack on the campaign trail. Walz said he doesn’t need much sleep, tries to run a 5K five times a week while hitting 9-minute miles and that his go-to snack is beef jerky, much to the annoyance of his pescatarian daughter, Hope Walz.

The “View” crew steered Walz into a discussion of gun control, reproductive rights and the economy but did so in a nonconfrontational manner that allowed the governor to repeat familiar positions and stories.

Co-host Joy Behar congratulated Walz for dropping from an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association when he was in Congress to an “F.” Walz said he and Harris would protect the Second Amendment, “but our first responsibility is to our kids and their safety so they’re not shot dead in school.”

Walz said it was the parents of children who died in the Sandy Hook massacre that shifted his thinking on assault rifles. “That’s the evolution from ‘A’ to ‘F,’ ” he said. “Dead children in a classroom, that should probably change how you view this.”

Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin asked Walz about the perception that the economy isn’t doing well. He said a Harris-Walz administration would help by focusing on home ownership with down-payment assistance. “We know these things work,” he said.

In contrast, he said former President Donald Trump would do more of what he did in his first term: cut taxes for the wealthiest, drive up the debt and go after Social Security and Medicare. He mocked Trump’s recent stop at a McDonald’s, where he served up French fries.

Harris “actually worked in a McDonald’s; she didn’t go and pander and disrespect McDonald’s workers by standing there in a red tie and take a picture,” he said.

Behar asked how he could convince voters that Trump means what he says when he claims he will use the military to go after political foes. Walz called it “dangerous talk. This is the talk of dictators.”

“The View” appearance was recorded Monday, but the episode of “SmartLess” was recorded two weeks ago.

Arnett brought up women’s health care, saying that for him it’s the No. 1 issue this year. Walz responded, “I couldn’t agree more.”

Walz said men need to understand how women’s bodies work. He said women’s health care and protection of democracy should have been at the top of the vice presidential debate with GOP candidate Sen. JD Vance.

Vance didn’t have any scheduled public appearances Monday but has campaign stops in Arizona and Nevada on Tuesday and Wednesday. Trump was in Greenville, N.C., on Monday for a rally and a meeting with faith leaders, including Dr. Ben Carson.

On the day Harris tapped him to be her running mate, Walz said campaign staff showed up at his house, packed his clothes and whisked him away on a private plane. When he arrived in Philadelphia for the debut event, he said there was a full stage mock-up in the back of a locker room so he could practice his speech.

The “SmartLess” hosts asked why Trump gets support from unions and workers that he won’t help. Walz said it’s messaging, and that “Donald Trump is a master of manipulation” who has “done a good job of distracting on cultural war stuff … not bread and butter.”

And again, he came away with an invitation for a return engagement. The governor talked about enjoying sand green — not country club — golf as a boy in Nebraska. Arnett said he and Bateman wanted to play sand green golf with him in Nebraska after the election.