The Trump campaign has tried to villanize Gov. Tim Walz as "too liberal" to its supporters by going after a bill he signed in 2023.
www.yahoo.com
The law, which went into effect in January, requires schools throughout Minnesota to provide menstrual products — like sanitary pads and tampons — to “all menstruating students in restrooms regularly used by students in grades 4 to 12.” (oh noes!)
Minnesota state Rep. Sandra Feist,
who authored the bill, told Yahoo News the goal of the bill was to support student health and ensure that any student doesn’t have to miss school because they can’t afford menstrual products.
The Wall Street Journal
reported in July that the cost of pads and tampons has increased faster in the last few years than the price of food. The average cost of a pack of pads and a box of tampons is $6.50 and $8.29 respectively.
“The bill was brought to be by students saying that this was something really important to them"
Minnesota is not the only state with a bill like this
“There are a number of states that have already done something similar,” Feist said. “Period poverty is something that impacts all students who menstruate.”
According to
the Alliance for Period Supplies, Minnesota is one of 28 states that are either committed by law or budgeting (for some, both) to provide menstrual products in schools. It includes states with Republican representatives like Georgia, Ohio and Utah.
Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt
told Fox News on Tuesday that the bill is “a threat to women’s health” and encourages “gender-transition surgeries for young minors.”
This seems to be the consensus from Trump supporters — that providing easy access to sanitary products will encourage young boys to want to transition. (weird cause I have seen tampons before and it didn't make me want to transition to a female)
“I question the logic,” Feist told Yahoo News. “There are a lot of aisles with tampons in many stores and it doesn’t seem that’s had an impact on young people considering whether they want to transition. So that doesn’t make sense to me.”
Despite the Trump campaign using this nickname to mock Walz, it’s instead more widely publicized Walz’s support for reproductive health and
provided another example of his advocacy for students.
“How nice of the Trump camp to help publicize Gov. Tim Walz's compassionate and common-sense policy of providing free menstrual products to students in Minnesota public schools!” Clinton tweeted in response to Raichik’s meme. “Let's do this everywhere.”
“Does MAGA not understand #TamponTim isn't an insult?” another X user wrote. “When did a Man making sure young girls aren't bleeding through their clothes at school become a problem?”
“Period poverty is a real thing,” one person posted. “As a former teacher, Walz understands how his impacts educational outcomes, just like he knows how hunger impacts learning. This makes me an even bigger fan of Tampon Tim.”
In response to a tweet by a Republican Party X account, someone said, “I keep accidentally liking all of the right-wing posts about Walz because everything they post about him makes me like him more.”
“I didn’t expect this,” Feist said. “I imagine that Governor Walz wasn’t expecting this. This wasn’t on his bingo card. I’ve been really gratified by all the support and interest in this legislation.”
Well done maga lol. Weirdos