Tim Walz’s wife argues putting tampons in all school bathrooms part of helping kids learn to read

Gwen Walz, wife of Minnesota governor and Democratic vice presidential hopeful Tim Walz, indicated offering tampons in school bathrooms would help students learn to read during an appearance on Katie Couric’s podcast Sunday. 

Couric asked Walz about her husband being called “Tampon Tim,” a nickname coined by conservatives after he signed a bill in his state that would put free menstrual products in all school restrooms, including boys’ rooms.

“If kids are hungry in school, what that does to brain and learning, you’re not going to learn to read,” Walz said. “So if you’re talking about learning to read and closing gaps then you better take away the barriers for that. If that’s tampons, then that’s tampons, right?”

“Take away the barriers and let’s get to the real work of this, not get lost in what are components and, as some people would say, you know, equaling the playing field or whatever it might be,” she said. 

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The legislation says menstrual products “must be available to all menstruating students in restrooms regularly used by students in grades 4 to 12 according to a plan developed by the school district.” Since then, the moniker “Tampon Tim” has been used to highlight his socially progressive views.

“Tim and I have always thought about removing barriers to learning and success, and whatever that barrier is, whether it be free lunch or menstruation products or knowing who you are, everyone means everyone and some things look different for some people,” Walz said. “People have different needs and they have different resources, but everyone means everyone and all of us.”

“So that is not an unmessy journey, but we have looked at it like, ‘What do you need to move forward, what do you need to be happy and healthy and have success and how might we most effectively and best help with that and then mind your own damn business right?'” she continued. “Then get out of the way, because and, I think that those two pieces probably describe Tim. He’s compassionate, he’s empathetic, he removes barriers.” 

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Walz continued, adding that schools should “provide what we need to provide.”

“He does a great job of that, but I also think, you know, then he’s like ‘Whose business is that, like mind it yourself,’ now I have to put a quarter in the swear jar but mind it yourself, like, let’s just get on about the real important issues that we have to solve, not get caught up in people’s own personal business.”

“We see equity as getting people what they need to get to a specific place where we can have that conversation,” she added. 

Walz also discussed second gentleman Doug Emhoff’s advice and the support he has given her. 

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“He is such an amazing person and how he models support for his wife and empowers women and empowers me is really miraculous,” she said. “So he has, you know, had a good sense of humor about things.”

Notably, Emhoff has faced allegations that he once slapped an ex-girlfriend “so hard she spun around” after she flirted with a valet and that he engaged in “inappropriate” and “misogynistic” office behavior at his Los Angeles law firm, according to the Daily Mail. 

Emhoff’s first marriage ended following his affair with their children’s nanny, whom he got pregnant, according to the Daily Mail. The nanny’s close friend told the outlet that she did not keep the baby, but did not elaborate further. 

Fox News’ Joey Wulfsohn, Emma Colton and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.