Tim Walz has been accused of spreading racial stereotypes after telling Kamala Harris he can’t handle anything spicier than a “white man taco.”
The Democratic vice presidential pick made the startling claim in a 10-minute conversation between the two posted on Harris’s YouTube channel.
“Here’s the deal,” the Minnesota governor told him. “They told him to be careful and to let him know that black pepper is the highest-end spice in Minnesota, you know?”
The vice president walked away laughing from the exchange, but his disparaging comments left a bad taste in the mouths of some viewers.
“This is not funny at all,” Fox News’ David Marcus tweeted. “They are using Walz as a clown to make fun of white people.”
Kamala Harris laughed as her vice presidential nominee Tim Walz confessed his culinary conservatism: “I have white man tacos,” he told him.
Harris has yet to sit down for a press interview since receiving the Democratic nomination, but seemed to enjoy her pleasant chat with Walz at a campaign stop in Detroit.
Harris may not have yet sat down for a press interview in the 26 days since Joe Biden dropped out of the race, but even her chat with Walz made some nervous.
They confronted each other at what appeared to be a card table at Aretha’s Jazz Café during a campaign stop in Detroit.
The pair were talking half-heartedly about food when the camera showed a photo of legendary black singer Aretha Franklin and Walz was heard muttering, “I got white man tacos.”
“What does that mean? Like mayonnaise and tuna?” Harris replied.
“It’s basically ground beef and cheese,” Walz said.
“Okay. Do you add any flavor to it?” his boss asked reassuringly.
“No, no,” he replied, looking sad.
The personal chemistry that reportedly allowed Walz to be chosen over Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro provoked an unpleasant reaction from many observers.
“It’s like a minstrel show satirizing white Midwestern stereotypes,” tweeted DC radio host Larry O’Connor.
“Black pepper is the most important spice in Minnesota, you know?” Walz told Harris.
Their exchange left a bad taste in the mouths of some viewers.
“You definitely like to spice up your military history,” @mazemoore said, referencing the dispute over whether Walz exaggerated his National Guard record.
“It’s political theater,” sighed Danny Hellman. “Tim Walz has to take on a submissive role as the boring, taste-challenged white guy next to the multicultural, pepper-growing, spicy boss played by Kamala Harris.”
And the Governor also managed to offend some cultured palates in his own home state.
“I really like Tim Walz, but as someone who also likes to cook with flavor, I’ll tell you that black pepper is far from the hottest seasoning in Minnesota,” wrote Minnesota journalist Brian Shea.
But no one runs for the White House without having their record scrutinized, and some were quick to accuse Walz of being hypocritical and mocking.
In 2014, the enthusiastic home cook won that year’s Minnesota Congressional Delegation Hot Dish Contest with a turkey and French fries hot dish recipe that featured nothing spicier than an onion.
When he submitted the dish to the competition two years later, it already included paprika and chili powder among its ingredients.
“It’s strange to lie about this, but lying comes naturally to the man who lied about his drunk driving, lied about being a retired command sergeant major, lied about carrying weapons in war, and happily encouraged and promoted books and articles that falsely claimed he was a combat veteran,” Jerry Dunleavy IV wrote.
The bizarre exchange concluded with Harris stating, “I’m the first vice president, I think, who’s grown chili peppers.”
But the Governor is no slouch in the kitchen and won the Minnesota Congressional Delegation Hotdish Off contest with his Turkey Trot Tater Tot Hotdish in 2014 and 2016.
And some were quick to point out that both paprika and chili powder had been added to her award-winning recipe when she won the award for the second time.
“I’m trying to expand my knowledge about nutrition,” Walz said.
“You know what?” Harris tells him. “We have melons. You’ll be fine.”
It wasn’t long before amateur historians were pointing out that Thomas Jefferson had grown chili peppers on his Monticello estate.
“They’re going for White Dudes for Harris,” Richard Hanania tweeted. “That says you’re a little lame, but confident enough to have a black female boss and still be a good person.”