Weird. Why the popular campaign insult stings more in Minnesota

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. — Weird. It’s a descriptor Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz famously used against Republicans even before becoming Vice President Harris’ running mate.

In this year's presidential campaign, "weird" is inescapable. It's been used in speeches, printed onto T-shirts and shared in memes across the internet. Both Republicans and Democrats have claimed the word.

And in Minnesota, the term can be … loaded.

So, we went to the Minnesota State Fair to talk to Minnesotans about how the word hits differently here.

Inside the Horticulture building at the fair, Ashley Greenwood and Sarah Black lined up with dozens of other fair visitors to admire a gallery of crop art. The designs are like mosaics — made with sometimes tens of thousands of seeds, beans and other plant materials.

The pair shuffles past images of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, a Lego astronaut and Lake Full of Fish, stopping at a piece depicting the Republicans on the ticket, Sen. JD Vance and former President Donald Trump.

Above them is a quote: “These guys are weird,” attributed in the piece to Walz.

Walz’s supporters say the “weird” label caught on because it carries more weight in the Midwest.

Minnesota weird

“It's very layered language,” says Black, a middle school geography teacher from Minneapolis. “I took it as like, this is his polite, Midwestern way of saying, like, ‘This is bonkers,’ right? Like, this is crazy, without coming right out and saying that.”

For Jill Carey, the word digs deep.

“When you're growing up and you're on a playground and a kid's like, ‘You're weird,’ it really makes you feel terrible inside,” Carey says.

As she peruses the crop art designs, Carey says the depiction of Vance and Trump made her think.

“I guess the Minnesota