Tim Walz’s wife Gwen details her husband’s wild ride to be chosen as Kamala Harris’ running mate and discusses the controversy over her name in the first interview of the convention
- Walz gave a rare interview on the second day of the Democratic Convention
- She spoke about sudden changes when she went on tour for Kamala Harris
Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz is still stunned by the sudden circumstances her family has found itself in since Kamala Harris chose her husband Tim as her running mate.
There’s so much news, she can barely put it into words. “I can probably name what’s not wild about it,” she told DailyMail.com on the second day of the Democratic National Convention, which was underway Tuesday night.
Walz crammed 21 family members into prime seats at the United Center to enjoy the moment, while her husband’s image was beamed into the stadium from Milwaukee after the performances including Lil Jon and Patti LaBelle.
She paused for an interview in a room full of cheering Democrats who suddenly embraced the Minnesota governor, 60, along with his fatherly jokes and his call to campaign with “joy.”
Minnesota’s first lady rejected what she called her staff’s admonitions not to speak to the press — a sign of how she might chart her own path if she makes it to Washington. (Harris has resisted pressure for a formal interview, answering only brief questions from reporters.)
For Walz, it was a surreal moment when she suddenly saw her name appear in large letters on a campaign bus for a tour of the battlefield in Pennsylvania before the power couples left for Chicago.
“I would say this. When you see your name as the Harris Waltz on the bus, do you know what the sign is? Wow. I mean, really?” she said, surprised. “It’s a real education, I think. Even when you’re running. It went fast,” she said.
She said the block letters with the two names made a big impression.
Teachable moment: Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz spoke to DailyMail.com about what it was like to become famous after her husband, Governor Tim Walz, became Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate
Wearing a bright red dress for the occasion, Walz entered the arena to take selfies with some of the 21 family members she brought with her, while also tending to her mother and mother-in-law during the event, which featured performances from rappers Common and Lil Jon, as well as speeches from political luminaries headlined by Barack Obama.
There’s one topic she simply won’t touch: whether the names Harris and Walz deserve an apostrophe, an obscure but controversial subject that the New York Times addressed after the two names were linked. The issue, which appears to be an unsettled stylistic one, is whether an “s” should be added after one or both of the names when pronouncing a possessive pronoun.
It’s the curse of Waltz.
“I’m staying out of it. It’s a very interesting conversation. I’m an English teacher,” she evaded diplomatically.
Gwen Walz and Governor Tim Walz taught at the same school in M
Letterpress: Walz said she saw her family name in large block letters on Harris-Walz’s campaign bus
“There’s a lot of disagreement about grammar,” she explained.
Nor does she want to hint that she is measuring the curtains at the US Naval Observatory, the mansion in Washington DC where the sitting vice president lives.
“We’re trying to keep the Minnesota House of Representatives now,” she joked when asked if she would make any changes.
Walz did not discuss her future career plans if she were to move to Washington. First lady Jill Biden will continue to teach at a community college.
She has long been an advocate for educational causes and has sponsored clubs at school. She and Walz met at a school where they both taught in Nebraska. In addition to teaching, she was a public school administrator in Minnesota for 20 years. She has also worked to expand educational opportunities for prisoners.