Instagram/@mngovernor
Minnesota’s Governor Tim Walz, along with his daughter Hope, ran the 10-mile leg of the Twin Cities Marathon-which the governor called “the most beautiful urban marathon in America.” Praise for the physical achievement of the father and daughter team proliferated, but too soon the comment section opened for unrelated political grievances and hostile remarks.
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With bright spirits, the governor Walz exulted on his official social media account: “Congratulations to everyone running in the most beautiful urban marathon in America today! Hope and I crushed the 10 miles.” The post was merely a text update about a personal accomplishment intersecting with a community event and had no photos or videos.
Most of the responses were positive and included personal comments about the race: “Loved getting to shake your hand on my 10k yesterday!” Another added, “I appreciated all your positive chatter out there today!! It made the race go by so much quicker!” The camaraderie was heavy in the air with one more guest saying, “Big thanks to you and Hope for sharing a great father/daughter moment with the community. Your energy got me through the 10 miles!”
That said, the post thread served to expose the polarizing political air surrounding the governor. The comment “Could have been our VP! 😢 Congratulations on your run!” opened the newer well of vitriol. What should have been a flurry of celebratory back-and-forth turned into a barrage of profanities, with one member repeatedly delivering spirited and wholly unsubstantiated diatribes toward the governor and Vice President Harris. The interchange was filled with profanities and surely rude language and veered into the divisive national political discourse much to the stark disdain of what originated as merely a local athletic event-focused behind-the-scenes post.
Amid the political squabbles, anomalous and off-topic comments came from yet another account. Without any coherent rhyme or reason, long concussion-free rants ensued with insinuations, demands for jail terms, and boastful proclamations on the poster’s own outrageous intellect and global connections. The grammatically aberrant comments, which dwelled nowhere near the marathon theme or the governor’s run, stood out as unintelligible spam within that conversation.
Others were more direct, some blatantly crude: “Kamala shit on you so hard 😂,” unmistakably referring to Walz’s non-selection as the Democratic vice-presidential nominee; the other one dropped an even more crude nickname, “I didn’t see the Tampon out there.”
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Amid the din though was the continuing thread of support for the old man and his engagement in a community tradition so dear to many here. That genuinely striking image of the state leader and his offspring, grinding it out in a tough-minded race for a hard mile, passed through this wall of agitation. This is but one small example, providing but an inkling glimpse at how apolitical milestones, even personal (!) for public figures, suddenly become another political battleground-and sometimes, one rife with acrimony. Just like the marathon, this very dissection of political discourse was triumphant. The governor has recently been vocal about Donald Trump‘s policies.