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Gwen Walz uses ‘teacher voice’ to send a message to JD Vance at Virginia campaign event

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Gwen Walz uses ‘teacher voice’ to send a message to JD Vance at Virginia campaign event

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MANASSAS, VIRGINIA – Gwen Walz, the first lady of Minnesota and wife of Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate Tim Walz, had a message for Ohio Senator JD Vance as she rallied educators: Mind your own business.

She chided the Republican vice-presidential candidate on Friday in her first solo campaign event, which took place in northern Virginia.

“Now, I read that JD Vance said he was really disturbed by teachers who don’t have biological children. Well, for a long time, Tim and I were teachers who struggled with infertility, and we were only able to start a family because of fertility treatments,” Walz said.

“So, this is really personal for me, and I think it is for millions of Americans. We do not take kindly to folks like JD Vance telling us when or how to start our families.”

“So let me use my teacher voice: Mr. Vance, how about your mind your own business,” Walz said, to claps and cheers from the room full of educators — and they repeated it with her: “Mr. Vance, how about you mind your own business.”

Walz’s remarks followed Vance’s accusation that his Democratic rival lied about using in vitro fertilization to conceive their two children: their daughter Hope, aged 23, and their son Gus, aged 17. The Republican’s claim was in response to a Glamour magazine article dated August 19, revealing conception was through IUI versus IVF.

In speeches, Harris has attacked former President Donald Trump’s abortion position and painted Republicans as a threat to women’s rights, including access to birth control, abortion medication and fertility treatments.

Trump said on Thursday he would require the government or insurance companies to pay for IVF fertility treatments if he is elected in November, a move likely aimed at appealing to women and suburban voters.

“[He] strongly supports ensuring women have access to the care they need to create healthy families, including widespread access to IVF, birth control, and contraception, and he always will,” Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Friday. 

Gwen Walz’s first solo campaign appearance

Before taking jabs at Vance, Walz introduced herself to the crowd at the “Educators for Harris-Walz” event as a mother, sister, friend, retired military spouse, first lady of Minnesota and a long-time teacher.

She reminisced about the “back to school” time of year amid a hotly contested election cycle and pointed out parallels between the start of a school year and the start of a presidential campaign. She weaved in stories about her experience teaching and the experience of her husband, who was also a teacher before he was elected to Congress in 2006.

Gwen Walz did not, however, share specifics on the Harris-Walz education platform.

“We know that everyone deserves a chance to get ahead,” Walz said. “That’s a vision that Tim Walz shares, and that is a vision that VP Harris shares, and together they will build that opportunity – one where everyone who works hard can have a chance to succeed.”

The room in the Park West Lions Club, nestled against a neighborhood of multifamily residential buildings near the Lockheed Martin campus in Manassas, was packed with about 200 supporters, many wearing blue t-shirts that read “Educators for Kamala and Tim.”

Signs that read “Harris Walz” and “Kaine 2024” were plastered on the walls and speakers stood against a mosaic of campaign signs cut into the shape of Virginia. Attendees held blue signs that said, “Thank you educators” and “AFT Harris Walz 2024.”

Virginia U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, who is up for re-election, addressed the crowd along with Anne Holton, former Virginia Secretary of Education, Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton, Alyce Pope, a member of the National Education Association [NEA] union and Marquis Smalls, a member of the American Federation of Teachers [AFT] union.

Becky Pringle, president of NEA, and Randi Weingarten, president of AFT, also attended the event, along with a handful of elected members of Virginia’s General Assembly and area school boards.

Educators, attendees share what they need from elected officials

Gretchen Almstead, a 75-year-old Virginia resident, was an educator for decades in Virginia. She said teachers need support and respect from the communities they teach, as well as higher wages.

“It’s a hard job, it’s something you do because you care about people and kids, you certainly don’t do it for the money,” she said.

Anna Demeria, a 37-year-old first-grade teacher in Manassas City Schools, said she believes that having two people in the White House who were educators for years will be life changing.

“Just to know that they know what it’s like every day, not just dealing with the kids and dealing with the parents – being on your feet all day, not having a moment to waste, the silliness that comes into teaching, they’re going to know what it’s like,” she said.

She’s hoping to see more resources for public K-12 schools, including staff to drive school buses and staff for career and technical education.

Elizabeth Marlowe, a 41-year-old high school English teacher in Prince William County Schools who has taught for 20 years, said she hopes a Harris-Walz presidency will protect federal funding for public education.

“Our founding fathers knew that having public education for our nation was so important, it is what drives us forward, it is what supports our communities, it is what helps us grow into capable, smart, wonderful adults,” she said.

She said the political divisiveness that has been injected into public schools in recent years has not been helpful for educators or their students.

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