Gwen Walz, the wife of vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), criticized former President Trump over in vitro fertilization (IVF) and scolded his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), in her first solo campaign event.
“I am so proud to be an educator for Harris,” Walz opened her remarks in Manassas, Va.
Prior to becoming Minnesota’s first lady, Walz was an English teacher and said teaching is one of her “passions.” Now, she’s hitting the campaign trail in the effort to get her husband and Vice President Harris elected.
The Walzes have been open about their struggle to have children. They regularly slam Republicans over IVF and women’s reproductive rights after trying to have a child for years. They named their first daughter Hope for a reason, they’ve shared.
Vance has drawn criticism recently over his remarks about family planning and single adults. He said people who don’t have children have less of a stake in the future of the country and poked fun at “childless cat ladies.”
In her speech Friday, Walz referenced resurfaced remarks from Vance from 2021 where he and other Ohio senate candidates were asked how he’d handle issues with schools.
Vance took aim at Randi Weingarten, the head of the American Federation of Teachers. He said if Weingarten wants to brainwash and destroy the minds of children, “she should have some of her own and leave ours the hell alone,” NBC News reported.
In her remarks Friday, Walz said she once was an educator without children.
“Now, I read that JD Vance said he was really disturbed by teachers who don’t have biological children. Well, for a long time, Tim and I were teachers who struggled with infertility and we were only able to start a family because of fertility treatments,” Walz said. “So, this is really personal for me, and I think it is for millions of Americans. We do not take kindly to folks like JD Vance telling us when or how to start our families.”
Walz then put her reading glasses on the brim of her nose and said, “Let me use my teacher voice.”
“Mr. Vance, how about you mind your own business?” she said forcefully.
Walz said Trump is trying to rewrite his record on reproductive rights and said teachers believe in telling the truth.
“So here are the facts and there aren’t any alternatives to these,” she said. “Donald Trump is the one who took down Roe and put access to IVF at risk. That’s a fact. And he’s running on a platform that puts these treatments at risk nationwide and that’s a fact.”
“But he knows that position is wildly unpopular and guess what? That’s a fact,” Walz continued.
In a statement to The Hill, Vance spokesperson Taylor Van Kirk said there is no bigger threat to American children than “left wing indoctrination being forced on our schools by elites like Randi Weingarten, with the support of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.”
“There are a lot of great teachers across the country, and JD’s criticism of Randi Weingarten’s actions is not about them,” Van Kirk said. “It’s essential that our schools focus on teaching reading, writing, math, and the basics, and get out of the business of forcing anti-American propaganda into the curriculum.”
Van Kirk said Vance is committed to ending the “leftist indoctrination in our schools” and will continue to “loudly call this crap out” to defend kids.
Updated at 3:17 p.m. EST.