Shady Nicknames Tim Walz Has Been Saddled With

Everyone learned all about the life of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz back in 2024, when he became a national name after Kamala Harris selected him as her running mate. Walz's neighborly look and charmingly sharp Midwestern wit gave him an energy rarely seen from the Democrats when it came to national elections. And left-leaning voters loved how Walz could zero in on Donald Trump's weakness with a single sentence. While Harris and Walz failed to win the 2024 election, it became clear to everyone that Tim Walz would play a bigger role in the future of his party and the country. 

Sadly, a fraud case in Minnesota later dealt a massive blow to Tim Walz's political standing, and, in January 2026, he announced that he would not run for reelection. This, along with the actions of ICE in his state, has put Walz back in the spotlight, prompting the MAGA world to give him some new nicknames. At the end of December 2025, instead of spending time with any of his dozen children, Elon Musk was busy calling Walz "Traitor Tim" on X. A month later, conservative influencer Nick Sortor headed to X to label Walz with the unoriginal nickname "soyboy." And while these attempts to belittle the governor aren't likely to catch on, there is one nickname that has followed Tim Walz since the 2024 campaign.

The earliest and most-used nickname that the MAGA movement gave Tim Walz was "Tampon Tim." The epithet was based around Walz, as governor, signing a law that ensured schools would provide menstrual products to students who needed them. Trump loyalists like Stephen Miller and Megyn Kelly took to X in an attempt to disparage Walz with the nickname. Meanwhile, Fox News host Jesse Watters called Walz a "freak," alleging that the governor was forcing "schools to stock tampons in boys' bathrooms." And conservative podcast host Liz Wheeler even claimed that Walz was a dangerous radical because he signed the bill.

But these attempts to belittle Walz didn't seem to catch on outside of the MAGA faithful. At least, not in the way they had hoped. A 2024 YouGov poll conducted on behalf of the Alliance for Period Supplies showed that 76.5% of the country agreed that menstrual supplies should be freely available to students. Prominent Democrats like Hillary Clinton used it to show how Walz's work was helping people with "common-sense policies," while supporters bought merchandise that said "Tampon Tim stops the red wave." Still, conservatives continue to use the nickname on X, showing that, even with an honest scandal to go after Walz with, they still can't find a better tag to use.