Trump dubs Walz a 'whack job': 'He's weird'

Former President Trump on Monday mocked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as a "whack job" as he responded to the Democratic vice presidential nominee labeling Trump and his running mate as "weird."

Trump during a campaign stop in Pennsylvania argued Vice President Harris's choice of Walz as her running mate showed she has a far-left ideology before launching into an aside about the criticisms from Walz that Trump and Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) are "weird."

"This whack job. You know, he said we’re weird. That JD and I are weird. I think we’re extremely normal people. Like you," Trump said to the crowd at a factory in York. "He’s weird. Did you ever see him go on the stage and go like crazy? Between his movement and her laugh, there’s a lot of craziness. I’d say a step further than weird. Weird is a nice word by comparison."

Walz rose to national prominence in July in part because of a viral cable news appearance in which he described Trump and Vance as "just weird." The label stuck and quickly became a rallying cry among Democrats.

The Democratic National Committee on Sunday night projected the message "Weird as hell!" onto the side of the Trump Hotel in Chicago on the eve of the Democratic National Convention there.

Trump has pushed back against the "weird" moniker in recent weeks.

The former president's allies have urged him to focus more on policy and issues like the economy and immigration rather than personal attacks, though Trump has signaled he has no plans of laying off going after Harris and Walz.