Why Republicans are calling Walz 'Tampon Tim' — and why Democrats embrace it

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Republican critics of Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz have given him a new nickname: “Tampon Tim.”

After Vice President Harris announced her pick, Stephen Miller, a former adviser to former President Donald Trump, tweeted, “She actually chose Tampon Tim.” Chaya Raichik, who runs the far-right social media account Libs of TikTok, photoshopped Walz’s face onto a Tampax box.

“Tampon Tim is hands down the best political nickname ever,” tweeted conservative commentator Liz Wheeler. “It’s so… savagely effective. In one word tells you EVERYTHING you need to know about Tim Walz’s dangerous radicalism.”

The moniker refers to a law that Walz, the governor of Minnesota, signed last year, requiring public schools to provide menstrual products — including pads and tampons — to students in 4th through 12th grades.

The products are free for students, with the state paying about $2 per pupil to keep them stocked throughout the school year.

The law, which was the result of years of advocacy by students and their allies, took effect on Jan. 1, though students say the rollout has so far been smoother in some school districts than others.

It makes Minnesota one of 28 states (and Washington D.C.) that have passed laws aimed at giving students access to menstrual products in schools, according to the Alliance for Period Supplies.

The issue enjoys broad popular support: 30 states have eliminated state sales tax on menstrual products, and Trump himself signed a 2018 package that requires federal prisons to provide them.

But Republicans appear to be taking issue with the wording of the legislation, which says the products must be available “to all