Tim Walz Faces New Allegations About His Political Origins

The Democratic Party's vice-presidential nominee has climbed the political ladder impressively, nearing the top of a presidential ticket. However, recent scrutiny suggests his rise might be based on shaky foundations.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who has previously faced accusations of embellishing his military service, has often recounted the story of what motivated him to enter politics.

According to Walz, while working as a high school teacher, he accompanied two students to a rally for then-President George W. Bush. However, Walz claims that event staff refused them entry after noticing one of the students had a John Kerry sticker on their backpack.

But this narrative contains discrepancies that have led to accusations of dishonesty, as reported by The Washington Examiner.

The first discrepancy is that Walz himself was actually admitted to the rally, according to a source with knowledge of the incident who spoke to The Examiner anonymously.

Additionally, the two teenagers who accompanied Walz, Matt Klaber and Nick Burkhart, were not his students.

The report further clarified that the teenagers were initially barred not because of the Kerry sticker, but due to an earlier confrontation they had been involved in that week, which had drawn local media attention.

Although Walz claims this incident was the "moment that I decided to run for office" because he had "never been overly involved in political campaigns," evidence obtained by The Examiner shows that he was already politically active. He had even attended an anti-Bush rally a few days before the event from which he said he was denied entry, as evidenced by a photo obtained by The Examiner.

“He was looking for an origin story,” said Chris Faulkner, a former Bush campaign staffer who was in Minnesota in 2004. “And he made one up.”

In 2020, the governor posted a thread on X (formerly Twitter) recounting his version of events, where he referred to the two teenagers as his students, which they were not.

“The last sitting President to visit my hometown of Mankato, Minnesota was George W. Bush in 2004. As a high school teacher and football coach, I brought two fellow teachers’ children to the speech as an educational experience. We were denied entry because the students had previously volunteered for the democratic party. Having just returned from military duty in Italy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, I wished to hear directly from the President, and my students, regardless of political party, deserved to witness the historical moment of a sitting president coming to our city,” Walz wrote.

“Above all, I was struck by how deeply divided our country was becoming, that a veteran & a group of high schoolers would be turned away at the door. It was at this moment that I decided to run for office. While I had a passion for politics, I had never been overly involved in political campaigns, and many people thought that a high school teacher and football coach didn’t stand a chance,” he continued.

“Two years after President Bush’s visit, I was elected to represent southern Minnesota in Congress. Fourteen years later, I was elected as the Governor of the great State of Minnesota,” he added.

“Ahead of President Trump’s visit today to my hometown, I think about the next generation of leaders who are stepping up to meet this moment. Don’t wait for your moment, take it. You may just be governor someday,” Walz encouraged.

However, the teenagers Walz referred to were not his students and were involved in a confrontation with Bush’s campaign staff days before the event. One of the students, already a Democratic activist, contacted the local media about the incident.

The students were later offered tickets to another event, and one of their mothers requested that Walz chaperone them, which he agreed to do.

Upon arrival, they were denied entry after the Secret Service reportedly deemed them a security risk.

“As a soldier, I told them I had a right to see my commander in chief,” Walz recounted during a 2006 campaign event.

While the students were barred, Walz, who had been photographed protesting against President Bush before the rally, was allowed in and did attend the event.

During the protest, he held a sign reading "Enduring Freedom Veterans for Kerry," referencing the long-running operation in Afghanistan—a mission in which he had not served.