A campaign speech by Minnesota’s First Lady Gwen Walz, in which she waved her hand and said “bye” and “turn the page” to former President Trump, thrilled audiences in Wisconsin but caused horror elsewhere.
Gwen Walz was called the “living embodiment of Trump Derangement Syndrome” in Wisconsin on Saturday for delivering a campaign speech for her husband, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, and Vice President Kamala Harris.
In her speech, Gwen Walz referred to Harris’ performance at last week’s debate and the fact that she repeatedly emphasized that the election is the time to “open a new chapter” in the current political climate.
“You probably saw that debate the other day. Yes, that was great. And Kamala Harris told us we need to close the chapter. Yes, because we have something really exciting coming,” said Gwen Walz.
“But I kind of liked it when she did that,” the First Lady of Minnesota continued, imitating someone turning a page in a book. “Turn the page.”
Gwen Walz then asked the audience to join her in miming turning the page and declared that the Democratic Party has “52 days to open a new chapter in Trump’s race for the White House.”
“You know what else this looks like?” Walz asked, still waving her arms. “Bye, bye. Bye, Donald Trump,” she exclaimed.
“We are turning a new chapter,” she added.
Critics were quick to slam Gwen Walz and her speech, calling it “embarrassing” and “1,000 times worse than Hillary Clinton.”
Gwen Walz is a teacher from Minnesota who met her husband in the 1990s when they both worked as teachers.
She has been the First Lady of the Gopher State since 2019, when Tim Walz was sworn in as governor.
Gwen Walz had already made waves on social media this election cycle after a clip went viral describing how she handled the 2020 Minnesota unrest.
“During the riots, we had sleepless nights again,” Walz’s wife told KSTP in July 2020. “I could smell the burning tires, it was very real. And I left the windows open as long as I could because I felt like that was an indicator of what was happening.”
Critics and conservatives called the remarks “bizarre” on social media at the time.
“What do you call it? Bizarre? Abnormal? Odd? Eccentric? Offbeat? Quirky?” wrote Noah Rothman, a senior editor at National Review Online. “It has to be a word that describes the catharsis that comes from burning other people’s property.”
