If the Democrats thought they had escaped the optics of an old man in the White House with the defenestration of Joe Biden they may have to think again.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has been besieged by unflattering comments about his aged appearance since Kamala Harris picked him as her nomination for VP on Tuesday morning.
The 60-year-old is just a few months older than Harris but posters on social media are falling over themselves to point out celebrities including Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise who are still older but look much younger.
Some are even suggesting that 78-year-old comedian Steve Martin is a dead ringer for the balding politician and should return to play him on Saturday Night Live.
But the former high school teacher launched a pre-emptive strike on social media last month, telling one critic he aged because he ‘supervised the lunchroom for 20 years.
‘You do not leave that job with a full head of hair. Trust me,’ he added.
The unfavorable comparisons came thick and fast after Kamala Harris chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her VP pic on Tuesday morning
The dad-of-two has been relaxed about worries over age, denouncing calls for Biden’s retirement as a ‘political sideshow’.
I’d take Joe Biden at 100 over any of these guys at whatever age,’ he said of the contenders during the Republican primaries.
But that has not stifled his own unimpressed critics.
‘Tom Cruise looks great for a 50-year-old,’ wrote one. ‘Tim Walz looks great… for a 75 year old.’
‘That damn white hair/bald combo sure does age you,’ added another.
‘I thought Kamala Harris picked the oldest white guy she could find but turns out Tim Walz is only 60!?!’ added a third.
‘That dude looks wayyyyy older and will not do her any favors in this upcoming election.’
The Nebraska-born governor took his first teaching job in China after graduating from Chadron State College in 1989 for returning to the state the following year for a post at a school in Alliance where he met his future wife Gwen.
He served in the National Guard for 24 years before entering national politics as US Representative for Minnesota’s first district in 2007.
And the Governor found himself bracketed with men decades older than himself
But a NPR/PBS News/Marist National Poll reveals that a whopping 71 percent of Americans have either never heard of him or don’t know how to rate the progressive governor.
Only 17 percent of US residents polled have a favorable view towards Walz and 12 percent say they have an unfavorable view of him.
The Republican’s VP pick JD Vance is much better known by Americans, according to the survey taken in early August and released on Tuesday.
Only 23 percent of respondents don’t know who Vance is or don’t know whether they would rate him favorably or unfavorably.
Despite only serving in the Senate since last year, Vance earned name recognition through his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, which was adapted into a Netflix film with stars like Amy Adams and Glenn Close playing the senator’s mother and grandmother.
Vance has a 34 percent favorability rating, but more – 43 percent – view him negatively in the new Marist poll.
But many were quick to defend the Minnesota governor’s unprepossessing appearance with some suggesting it could be an electoral advantage.
‘Ya never seen a middle aged white man from the Midwest who spends half the year in either below freezing temps or extremely humid heat?’ asked one. ‘They have to unbuckle their face to smile.’
‘He is only 60 – but as the mom of an educator, I can tell you what my HS English teacher son says: That teaching, coaching, and lunchroom duties will age a person *really* fast,’ added another.
Some were more sympathetic to the Governor’s homely demeanor
And the former teacher offered his own explanation for his unprepossessing appearance
Others pointed out that Walz has not resorted to the surgical enhancements of his Hollywood contemporaries.
The greying Democrat cannot blame alcohol for his looks having been teetotal since a DUI charge in 1995.
And he was emphatic when asked to name his favorite song by fellow Minnesotan Bob Dylan.
‘Forever Young,’ he replied.
