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Does 'weird' work for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz? : It's Been a Minute Ever since Minnesota governor and Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz called Republicans "weird," we've seen other Democrats embrace this name-calling strategy and deploy it in interviews and in memes online. We've also seen Republicans lobbing the "weird" moniker right back at Democrats. To get into how "weird" this all is, Brittany chats with NPR culture reporter Andrew Limbong and NPR political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben about this new political strategy and redefining "normalcy" in 2024.

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It's Been a Minute

Does 'weird' work for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz?

Does 'weird' work for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz?

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VP nominee Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Donald Trump. Andrew Harnik; Natalie Behring / AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Andrew Harnik; Natalie Behring / AFP/Getty Images

VP nominee Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Donald Trump.

Andrew Harnik; Natalie Behring / AFP/Getty Images

Ever since Minnesota governor and Democratic VP nominee Tim Walz called Republicans "weird," we've been inundated with memorable memes, meltdowns, and viral moments. And it's been helping the Democrats in a BIG way. To get into how "weird" this all is, Brittany chats with NPR culture reporter Andrew Limbong and NPR political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben about the changing methods of political strategy and redefining "normalcy" in an abnormal world.

This episode was produced by Liam McBain with support from Corey Antonio Rose and Alexis Williams. It was edited by Jessica Placzek. Our VP of programming is Yolanda Sangweni.

Correction Aug. 15, 2024

Correction: A previous version of this episode incorrectly said that Republicans describe Democrats as perverts and pedophiles. Some individual Republicans have made those accusations, not all. That story also incorrectly portrayed polling as indicating that only the Republican party had become more extreme in recent years. That polling shows that a majority of Americans feel that both the Republican and Democratic parties have become more "extreme," although more view Republicans that way. We have also removed material in the game at the end of the episode that did not meet our standards.