Kamala Harris’ VP pick Tim Walz sets internet alight as commenters claim the Minnesota governor looks far older than his age

If Democrats thought they had escaped the impression of an old man in the White House with the defenestration of Joe Biden, they might want to think again.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has been inundated with unflattering comments about his old appearance since Kamala Harris nominated him as her vice presidential candidate on Tuesday morning.

The 60-year-old is only a few months older than Harris, but social media has been abuzz with speculation about celebrities like Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, who are still older but look much younger.

Some even claim that 78-year-old comedian Steve Martin looks exactly like the balding politician and should play him again on Saturday Night Live.

But the former high school teacher launched a preemptive strike on social media last month, telling one critic that he had become older because he had “overseen the lunchroom for 20 years.”

“You don’t leave that job with a full head of hair. Trust me,” he added.

The father of two is not too concerned about his age, calling calls for Biden to retire a “political sideshow.”

“I would choose Joe Biden at 100 years old over any of these guys, regardless of their age,” he said of the candidates in the Republican primary.

But that couldn’t silence his own unimpressed critics.

“Tom Cruise looks great for a 50 year old,” one wrote. “Tim Walz looks great… for a 75 year old.”

“That annoying combination of white hair and baldness really ages you,” added another.

“I thought Kamala Harris picked the oldest white man she could find but turns out Tim Walz is only 60!?!,” added a third.

“That guy looks much older and won’t do her any favors in the upcoming elections.”

The Nebraska governor got his first teaching job in China after graduating from Chadron State College in 1989. He returned to the state the following year for a job at a school in Alliance, where he met his future wife, Gwen.

He served in the National Guard for 24 years before entering national politics in 2007 as a representative for Minnesota’s 1st District.

But an NPR/PBS News/Marist National poll found that a whopping 71 percent of Americans have either never heard of him or don’t know how to rate the progressive governor.

Only 17 percent of American residents surveyed have a positive opinion of Walz, and 12 percent say they have a negative opinion of him.

According to a poll conducted in early August and released Tuesday, J.D. Vance, the Republican Party’s vice presidential nominee, is much better known among Americans.

Only 23 percent of respondents do not know who Vance is or whether they would rate him positively or negatively.

Though he has only been in the Senate since last year, Vance gained notoriety through his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, which was made into a Netflix film starring Amy Adams and Glenn Close as the senator’s mother and grandmother.

Vance has a popularity rating of 34 percent, but more people — 43 percent — view him negatively in Marist’s new poll.

However, many were quick to defend the Minnesota governor’s low-profile appearance, with some suggesting it could be an electoral advantage.

“Haven’t you ever seen a middle-aged white man from the Midwest who lives half the year in freezing temperatures or extreme humidity and heat?” asked one. “They have to open their faces to laugh.”

“He’s only 60, but as the mother of a teacher in education, I can tell you what my high school English teacher son says: that teaching, coaching, and cafeteria duties make you age *really* fast,” added another.

Others pointed out that Walz did not perform surgical procedures like his Hollywood contemporaries.

The graying Democrat can’t blame his appearance on alcohol, as he has been a teetotaler since a drunken driving charge in 1995.

And he was adamant when asked what his favorite song by fellow Minnesotan Bob Dylan was.

“Forever young,” he replied.