House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) took aim at Minnesota Governor Tim Walz during a Trump rally in North Carolina on Wednesday, calling him Vice President Kamala Harris’s “emotional support animal” in a fiery jab that escalates the tension as Election Day approaches. Emmer, addressing a crowd of Trump supporters in Rocky Mount, accused Walz of being little more than a “glib talker with jazz hands,” who was chosen to support Harris through her campaign struggles.
“Tim Walz was supposed to be Kamala’s emotional support animal,” Emmer declared, before suggesting Walz had been “shaken” by his vice-presidential debate loss to Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio). Emmer, who played Walz in Vance’s debate prep, claimed, “JD Vance ended that. Tim Walz has not been the same since, and ever since, Kamala keeps making mistakes.”
Emmer’s comments reflect the increasingly personal and combative nature of this election season, with North Carolina emerging as a decisive battleground. Polling shows Trump narrowly leading Harris, holding 49 percent support to her 48 percent, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s aggregated surveys.
The Harris campaign has yet to respond to Emmer’s remarks.
Sources for this article include: The Hill, Decision Desk HQ.
