Vice President Kamala Harris selected Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) as her 2024 running mate on Wednesday, and supporters of former President Donald Trump quickly labeled him with a new nickname: "Tampon Tim."
So where is this coming from?
In 2023, Walz backed state legislation that required public schools to provide feminine products, including tampons, pads, and other items, in all restrooms used by students in grades four through 12.
Minnesota Republicans sought to amend the legislation before its passage to limit those products to only women's restrooms but were blocked. The law went into effect on Jan. 1 of this year.
Walz previously served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives on top of a 24-year career as an educator and National Guardsman, and his selection by Harris was immediately heralded by progressives and LGBT rights groups. But Republicans, including top Trump campaign officials, highlighted the school bathroom controversy.
Trump adviser Stephen Miller, responding to the Walz selection, posted on X, "She actually chose Tampon Tim," shortly after the term began trending on social media.
Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt similarly attacked Walz over the bathroom law during a Wednesday night appearance on Fox News.
"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," she said in an interview. "Those are radical policies that Tim Walz supports. He actually signed a bill to do that."
"What could be weirder than signing a bill requiring schools to stock tampons in boys’ bathrooms?" Make America Great Again Inc., a top super PAC backing Trump's 2024 bid, added in a statement.
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Walz has a history of backing LGBT rights. As a House member, Walz supported legalizing same-sex marriage and he backed the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" to allow gay members of the military to serve openly. As governor, Walz signed a " trans refuge " bill banning Minnesota from cooperating with attempts to prosecute out-of-state patients seeking reproductive or gender-transition treatment. Walz also banned conversion therapy treatment for LGBT minors seeking to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Harris campaign declined to comment on this story.
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