Fox News contributor Joe Concha slams the Democratic National Convention (DNC) as "weird" for touting Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as an example of "21st century masculinity" due to his former role as a high school football coach.
Fox News contributor Joe Concha has expressed his bewilderment over the Democratic National Convention's (DNC's) portrayal of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as a symbol of "21st century masculinity" based on his previous experience as a high school football coach.
During the DNC, former teammates of Walz from the Mankato (Minnesota) West High School football team took to the stage to praise their former coach, who formally accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president on Wednesday night.
Tim Walz: The 'Weird' DNC's Poster Boy for '21st Century Masculinity'
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) lauded Walz's ability to transform a losing football team into state champions, while former student Ben Ingman spoke of the governor's leadership and belief in his team.
However, social media users were quick to point out that Walz served only as an assistant coach while at Mankato, not as a head coach responsible for the team's success.
Tim Walz: The 'Weird' DNC's Poster Boy for '21st Century Masculinity'
"He was NEVER a head coach. He didn’t ‘turn’ anyone into state champions," one post on Twitter read. "He was the Assistant Coach not the Coach," former U.S. ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell chimed in.
Other social media users expressed confusion over the DNC's emphasis on Walz's coaching past, suggesting that it was an outdated and irrelevant aspect of his profile.
Tim Walz: The 'Weird' DNC's Poster Boy for '21st Century Masculinity'
"Still really, really confused about why they keep pushing the ‘Coach Walz’ thing from a million years ago when Tim Walz was a volunteer assistant coach…why not focus on his Governorship…?…no…they just want to focus on Coach Walz…it’s strange," another person wrote.
Walz taught at Mankato from 1996-2006, serving as the Scarlets' linebackers coach and defensive coordinator until 2002. Under head coach Rick Sutton, the school won its first state championship in 1999.
Tim Walz: The 'Weird' DNC's Poster Boy for '21st Century Masculinity'
Despite his limited role in the football program, Walz was inducted into the high school's Hall of Fame in 2019.
Concha, commenting on the DNC's portrayal of Walz, criticized the convention for promoting a "weird" narrative that failed to showcase the governor's actual accomplishments.
"It's bizarre to me that the DNC is trying to sell Tim Walz as some kind of '21st century' role model because he was an assistant high school football coach who happened to be on the staff of a team that won a state championship," Concha said. "This is not exactly the most impressive resume for someone who is supposed to be the second-in-command of the free world."
Concha went on to question why the DNC and the media were not focusing on Walz's record as governor of Minnesota, which he said was full of "failures."
"Walz has presided over a state with skyrocketing crime, declining test scores, and an economy that is lagging behind the rest of the country," Concha said. "These are the real issues that he should be talking about, not his days as an assistant football coach."
Concha concluded by saying that the DNC's "weird" portrayal of Walz as a "21st century" icon was a desperate attempt to distract from the governor's lack of qualifications for the vice presidency.
