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In a humorous moment at a Boston fundraiser Wednesday night, Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz took a jab at Republican Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, stirring up a cross-country clash between two former football coaches now entrenched in politics.
Walz, who coached high school football in Minnesota for a decade, declared his new role on the national stage: “I feel like one of my roles in this now is to be the anti-Tommy Tuberville, to show that football coaches are not the dumbest people,” he quipped, drawing laughter from the Massachusetts crowd.
The comment, which came during an 11-minute speech alongside Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, was a clear reference to Tuberville, who spent 21 years coaching college football, including a notable stint at Auburn University. Walz’s remarks were particularly stinging given the widespread criticism Tuberville has faced for several gaffes, including his infamous inability to name the three branches of government and his controversial block on military promotions over his opposition to abortion policies.
Tuberville, who famously led Auburn’s football team to an undefeated season in 2004, is no stranger to controversy. His tenure in the Senate has been marked by a series of head-scratching comments, including a claim that World War II was fought to “free Europe of socialism” and his incorrect assertion that the U.S. government’s three branches were “the House, the Senate, and the executive.”
Walz, a former teacher and football coach at Mankato West High School, where he won a state championship in 1999, used his speech to emphasize the stark differences between himself and Tuberville, particularly in terms of intellect and approach to governance.
Walz became an internet favorite for using the word “weird” as a MAGA takedown. He has maintained that his criticism of Trump and his running mate wasn’t about name-calling but rather “an observation” of their increasingly “weird and out-of-touch” behavior.
Unsurprisingly, Walz’s pointed remarks didn’t sit well with Tuberville, who has previously resorted to juvenile, misleading, and false attacks against Walz, echoing the broader conservative rhetoric.
