Tim Walz is accused of lying about his “White Guy Tacos”

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was accused on social media of lying about eating “white guy tacos” made with “ground beef and cheese” after a recipe he provided in 2022 resurfaced that included diced green chiles and a bottle of taco sauce on its ingredient list.

Walz made the “tacos for white men” comment in a 10-minute discussion with Vice President Kamala Harris posted on YouTube on Thursday that has been viewed more than a million times. The informal, fireside chat-style conversation between Harris and Walz, the Democratic Party's presidential and vice presidential candidates, covered a range of topics, including politics, music and food.

On X (formerly Twitter), Walz uploaded a 30-second promotional clip of the discussion, which received more than 4 million views and thousands of comments. Several social media users noted that in a January 2022 X post, Walz shared the recipe for his Turkey Taco Tot Hotdish, which won the Minnesota Congressional Delegation's Hotdish Contest in 2016.

One user wrote, “Why did Walz lie when he said he eats 'white man's tacos'?? Just two years ago he was talking about his award-winning taco recipe. Loaded with spices!”

Earlier this month, Harris announced Walz as her 2024 running mate, sparking a surge in interest in the governor's policies and personality. Since becoming her party's presumptive nominee, Harris has performed strongly in polls against her Republican rival Donald Trump. An Emerson College poll released Thursday gave her a 4 percentage point lead.

In the video of her conversation with Walz, the governor says, “I have tacos for white people,” to which Harris replies, “What do you mean? Like mayonnaise and tuna? What are you doing?”

Walz says, “Pretty much ground beef and cheese.” The vice president replies, “That's OK. Do you add anything?” When the governor says no, Harris bursts into laughter.

Walz adds, “No, they told her to be careful and tell her that black pepper is the hottest spice in Minnesota, you know.”

Harris then says, “I believe I am the first vice president to ever grow chili peppers.”

Newsweek Outside of regular office hours, Walz's press office and the Harris campaign team were contacted by email and asked for a statement.

In his 2022 post, Walz shared a photo of his 2016 “Hotdish Off” award and wrote, “I don't know, guys… I make a pretty mean hotdish. Check out my award-winning Turkey Taco Tot Hotdish recipe here.”

A link included in the post led to an article from 2016, which was written by The Journal in Minnesota, where Walz's winning recipe was listed. Ingredients included “1 can diced mild green chiles,” “1 bottle taco sauce (medium)” and “chili powder.”

“Tim Waltz is a pathological liar. If I were still from Minnesota I would be absolutely embarrassed,” commented one X user. “Attached to this post is Tim's Hot Dish, which is very spicy. The guy is a pathological liar.”

Another added: “Hmm, so Tim is lying, he's not just another racist 'Mayonnaise wypipo DoN't LiKe SpIcEs' type stereotype. (By the way, who the hell puts toddlers in their tacos? That alone should get him permanently disinvited.)”

In another post, the user wrote: “What a way to spread the 'white people are boring' myth. Keep the racism alive, Tim! Keep up the 'I'm just a pathetic white person' attitude, a weak, submissive moron. You are pathetic.”