Jon Stewart’s interview with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on The Daily Show might as well have been a comedy sketch. Walz, apparently channeling his inner fantasy football coach, tried to convince the audience that the Cheney endorsements of Kamala Harris were somehow going to sway the “Don’t Tread On Me,” libertarian, pro-Constitution crowd.
Yes, folks, you heard that right: Dick and Liz Cheney, the ultimate Washington insiders, are supposed to be the bridge to the libertarian right. This from the same Dick Cheney whose legacy includes warrantless surveillance and a never-ending war in Iraq. But according to Walz, this is the ticket that’s going to win over the limited-government, freedom-loving voters. Sure, and maybe Taylor Swift will lead us into battle next.
Walz’s attempt to rebrand the Cheney family as the new messiahs of the “Don’t Tread On Me” movement is nothing short of laughable. He’s trying to spin this bizarre alliance as a “big tent” move, which might make sense if the tent he’s talking about is hosting a three-ring circus. Let’s face it, there’s nothing libertarian about a Harris-Cheney duo. It’s a desperate, last-minute Hail Mary from a campaign that knows it’s in trouble.
Tim Walz just defended embracing Dick and Liz Cheney’s endorsements, claiming they ‘give permission’ to libertarians, constitutionalists, and ‘don’t tread on me’ folks to cross over.
This is beyond parody. We’ve always despised the Cheneys. pic.twitter.com/NlMLELZ8Hu
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) October 22, 2024
Speaking of desperate moves, Walz also took the time to go after Donald Trump’s recent stop at McDonald’s in Pennsylvania. Trump threw on an apron, worked the fry station, and even took drive-thru orders—a classic Trump stunt that gets people talking and, as always, drives the media into a frenzy. Walz, clearly feeling the heat, responded with a triggered post on social media accusing Trump of “stiffing workers” and cutting overtime benefits, all while trying to prop up Harris’s dubious claim of having worked at McDonald’s herself.
Now, here’s the kicker: Harris’s alleged McDonald’s tenure is about as documented as Bigfoot sightings. Despite her claims of “working fries” during her college days, no records, job applications, or even her own memoirs mention this supposed gig. McDonald’s itself has no evidence to back her up. Yet somehow, Walz and the Harris campaign are running with this story, using it as proof of her middle-class cred. It’s rich, considering Harris didn’t bring up her fast-food career until she was running for president and needed to appeal to blue-collar voters. Convenient timing, no?
This guy spent decades stiffing workers pay, cut overtime benefits for millions of people, and opposed any effort to raise the minimum wage.
You know who has actually worked at McDonald’s, joined workers on picket lines, and fights for working people? @KamalaHarris. https://t.co/QzFMVLiuaj
— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) October 20, 2024
Trump’s McDonald’s visit, meanwhile, did exactly what it was supposed to do—connect with ordinary Americans in a way that Harris and her elitist résumé inflation simply can’t. Trump even got some heartfelt praise from customers at the drive-thru, who thanked him for being the kind of president that stands with working people. One customer even pleaded with him not to let the U.S. become “like Brazil,” a not-so-subtle jab at the kind of policies Harris and her party have been pushing.
“Mr. President, please don’t let the United States become Brazil!” pic.twitter.com/ZEgujQMS35
— Margo Martin (@margommartin) October 20, 2024
Of course, the media pounced. News outlets like MSNBC and The Washington Post criticized Trump’s visit as a “staged event,” as if we didn’t all know that political photo-ops are, by definition, staged. The pearl-clutching over Trump not working a “full shift” at McDonald’s is comical, especially coming from the same media that glossed over Harris’s entirely undocumented fast-food career.
This is all about deflection. Walz and the Democrats want to shift attention away from Harris’s weak resume and the Cheney endorsement, hoping to distract voters with snarky jabs at Trump. But at the end of the day, it’s Trump who’s connecting with working-class voters, while Harris struggles to convince anyone she ever flipped a burger. If this is the best strategy they’ve got, 2024’s looking even rougher for them than they thought.
