Ohio senator and Republican candidate for vice president JD Vance took aim at Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s football IQ after the Democratic vice presidential nominee posted a confusing tweet during a livestream of himself playing Madden.
“They parade Tim Walz around as some kind of football genius as a former football coach, and maybe I know more about football than Gov. Tim Walz does,” Vance said during a rally in Saginaw, Michigan on Tuesday.
The comments come after Walz teamed up with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., to livestream a session of the two playing the Madden NFL video game against each other, an event that was reportedly an effort by the campaign to widen its appeal among young male voters.
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Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz addresses the crowd at a “Native Americans for Harris-Walz” event at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
But it was a social media post made during the livestream by Walz, who worked as a defensive coordinator at Mankato West High School, that had many questioning the Minnesota governor’s football knowledge, boasting on X that Ocasio-Cortez “could run a mean pick 6.”
“And I can call an audible on the play,” Walz continued in the post, which was subsequently deleted. “We both know that if you take the time to draw up a playbook, you’re gonna use it.”
Critics quickly seized on the post, noting that a “pick six” is not a play that you run but instead the result of a defensive player intercepting the ball and running it in for a touchdown, resulting in six points.
Sen. JD Vance gestures as he speaks at a campaign event at JWF Industries, Oct. 12, 2024, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
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Vance joined the chorus during his Tuesday event in Michigan, arguing that the post proved the Minnesota governor’s lack of football knowledge.
“Those of you that know football know that you don’t run a pick six,” Vance said. “A pick six is something that happens accidentally on the football field. You run like a spread offense or a West Coast offense.”
Vance then argued that he is likely more knowledgeable at football than Walz, going on to quip that former President Trump might also “know more about working at McDonald’s than Kamala Harris does,” referencing Trump’s day serving fries at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s compared to accusations that Vice President Kamala Harris lied about having work experience at the popular fast-food chain.
Former President Trump works behind the counter during a campaign event at a McDonald’s restaurant on Oct. 20, 2024, in Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania. (Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images)
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“Politics is a little absurd from time to time and sometimes we oughta poke fun at the absurdity of our political process,” Vance added.
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
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