Tim Walz wants you to know he and Kamala Harris are just average, run-of-the-mill, middle class working folks like you.
Just, you know, ignore the six-figure tax funded salaries and paid housing, car services, food, etc.
Speaking to a reporter this week who asked him how he’d respond to American families worried about putting food on the table amid rampant inflation and increasing grocery prices, Walz repeated the Harris campaign’s line that he’s just an everyday working man like anyone else, so he gets it.
"What do you tell people who wake up, frankly, each morning wondering, 'How am I gonna get by financially?'" the reporter asked.
"Yeah. I tell them, Kamala Harris and I know something about it, being middle class folks. Our families sit at the table trying to pay the bill," Walz responded.
REPORTER: "What do you tell people who wake up each morning wondering 'How am I going to get by financially?'"
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) September 17, 2024
WALZ: Kamala and I are middle class folks.
Minnesotans made 7,551,147 visits to food shelves in 2023.
This broke the previous record set in 2022 by over 2M visits. pic.twitter.com/TlIQs0Gmqo
Got that? The governor of Minnesota and the vice president of the United States both sit at their kitchen tables stressing about utilities and how to buy their kids shoes just like you!
And if you were drinking coffee while reading that, sorry about the mess you now have to clean up.
Related: Hillary Says Press Isn't Hard Enough on Trump, Wants to Charge Americans with Spreading 'Propaganda'
Let's break this down with the facts. According to CNN, “Walz reported a $210,287 income from his job as governor of Minnesota from January 2023 through August of this year and a bank account with between $15,000 and $50,000 in cash.” He doesn’t own a home, however - though that's likely because he’s being put up in Eastcliff, the University of Minnesota’s 20-room, waterfront presidential house, since the 16,000-foot governor’s mansion is under repair. Per the lease agreement, the state of Minnesota is paying $4,400 a month for Walz and his family to use the home.
Now, I wouldn't know from experience, but I'm guessing it's pretty easy to stretch that $200,000 paycheck when you're not having to fork out rent or a mortgage payment.
While being leaps and bounds beyond the average American’s salary of just under $64,000, Walz’s income is small potatoes compared to Vice President Kamala Harris, whose taxpayer-funded salary of $284,600 makes up just part of her $7 million net worth, much of which is thanks to her attorney husband Doug Emhoff (he made about $1 million a year as an entertainment attorney). She’s also got about $1 million in government pensions, Forbes reports.
You know, just like your average Joe.