Frank Barry, Columnist

Democrats Have Their Own ‘Weird’ Problem

In 2024, the party tried to weaponize the word against its opponents. But to many, the left is the one out of step with American norms.

January 7, 2025 at 11:30 AM UTC

By Frank Barry

Frank Barry is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and member of the editorial board covering national affairs. He is the author of the new book, "Back Roads and Better Angels: A Journey Into the Heart of American Democracy."

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz gets the credit/blame for first tagging Republicans as “weird.”
Photographer: Scott Olson/Getty Images North America

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As Democrats continue their election post-mortems, they ought to do an autopsy on one of their favorite words of 2024: weird.

When Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called Republicans “weird” as he auditioned to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, the word became a viral hit and a staple of the campaign. Voters, however, never seemed to buy it.