Is anything, even the most minute detail, in Tim Walz‘s political-facing biography true or at least not a severe embellishment? This question is starting to percolate in Americans’ minds as more information is unearthed, suggesting that aspects of Walz’s military career, his time as a high school football coach, and his ‘everyman‘ Midwesterner image are all just figments and daydreams. Tim Walz is this election cycle’s Walter Mitty.
Walter Mitty was the meek and mild-mannered main character in a 1939 James Thurber short story for the New Yorker. Later made in a 1947 movie and 2013 remake starring Ben Stiller, the story centers on a man who spins heroic and fantastical tales regarding the alternative lives he may have led. Mitty concocts daydreams of serving as a fighter pilot, a doctor, and a hitman for hire. In reality, he was none of these things.
Much like Walter Mitty, Tim Walz has spun stories for voters for years, with the embellishments and falsehoods only coming to a head now that he is Kamala Harris‘s 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee. From a high school football championship to military service in combat to even his ‘everyman’ Midwesterner schtick, there are shreds of truth in each