Trump team calls out Walz for ‘weird flex’ after veiled Vance reference at DNC

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JD Vance responds to Tim Walz' speech

Ohio Senator JD Vance responds to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz' speech at the 2024 DNC

Former President Donald Trump's campaign called out a veiled dig at running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, made by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at the Democratic National Convention. 

Walz, who formally accepted the Democratic vice presidential nomination Wednesday night, addressed the United Center in Chicago by speaking of his upbringing in the Midwest. 

"Now, I grew up in Butte, Nebraska, a town of 400 people. I had 24 kids in my high school class, and none of them went to Yale," Walz said, prompting laughter from the audience. "But I'll tell you what. Growing up in a small town like that, you'll learn how to take care of each other. That that family down the road, they may not think like you do. They may not pray like you do. They may not love like you do. But they're your neighbors. And you look out for them, and they look out for you."

The Trump War Room X account posted a clip of Walz's remark about Yale, where Vance attended law school.

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"Walz: ‘I had 24 kids in my high school class and none of them went to Yale,’" Trump War Room noted, adding, "Weird flex!" 

Vance is the author of "Hillbilly Elegy," a memoir about his time as a Yale Law School student reflecting on growing up in Appalachia that was adapted into a Netflix film. In his debut as Trump's running mate at the Republican National Convention, Vance was open about being raised by his grandmother, whom he described as tough and keeping him away from drugs, and who would barter with the Meals on Wheels volunteers to help feed him growing up. Vance, credited for appealing to working-class Midwesterners in the Rust Belt, also spoke of his mother's long battle with addiction. She is now nearly 10 years sober. 

Vance enlisted in the Marine Corps right after graduating from high school in Middletown, Ohio. He attended Ohio State University and later Yale Law School. 

Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance addresses the audience at a campaign rally on Aug. 20, 2024, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Andy Manis/Getty Images)

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Fox News host Martha MacCallum asked Vance to respond to Walz's reference to Yale, suggesting he was deeming Vance "Mr. Fancypants Ivy League." 

"I grew up in a very poor family. I was raised by my grandmother who didn't graduate from high school, much less from college," Vance responded. "And I am proud of the fact that she really worked her tail off – she went to her grave fighting to give me opportunities. I’m not ashamed of the fact that my grandmother sacrificed for me, and I was able to live the American Dream. I’m proud of what I accomplished, and, more importantly, I’m proud of all the people who sacrificed in order to give me a better life."

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz takes the stage at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 21, 2024. (Reuters/Brendan Mcdermid)

"I would think Tim Walz would want to praise people who sacrificed to give their children and grandchildren a better life, not put me down, but I guess this is the political order of the day," Vance added. "He’s going to attack me. That’s fine. But I’m proud of my family. I’m proud of what they sacrificed to make my life possible." 

Walz, by comparison, enlisted in the Army National Guard at age 17 and served for 24 years. 

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He has faced recent "stolen valor" attacks from fellow veterans for reportedly opting to retire to run for Congress, while his unit went to Afghanistan months later. 

According to his congressional biography, Walz earned a Bachelor of Science from Chadron State College in Nebraska. The former Minnesota high school teacher is not without Ivy League ties himself. He spent 1989-1990 teaching high school in China as part of a group of government-sanctioned American educators sent to the communist country through a program at Harvard University.