Every once in a while, someone in the political arena tries to go beyond their comfort zone.  We’ve all seen it happen.

Back in school — some kid (was it you?) decides he needs to act tougher than he really is, play it COOLER than he really is; and the results are disastrous.

And by disastrous, I mean slap-your-grandma HILARIOUS, as we say down in Texas.

I’m assuming you might be familiar with the excited jumping-up-and-down when Elon Musk let loose up on stage with President Trump a few weeks ago, during the triumphant RETURN TO BUTLER, PA rally.  But if not — you need to see this first.

I don’t know if this will make sense to anyone but Elon jumps like a homeschool kid pic.twitter.com/9b9eMyCsKy

— Ben Palmer (@benjpalmer) October 6, 2024

And honestly… I laughed when I saw that.  There are a thousand different vantage points on Elon Musk.  (Not really, there’s just two.  That just sounded dramatic and enticing.)

You generally either love or hate the guy.  I’m not going down that unending rabbit trail right now — that’s not what this is about.  But personally?  I find him fascinating.  We have a slightly different worldview, at least philosophically (though he might just be coming around).  Practically?  — practically speaking, we’re basically on the same page most of the time, or at least the same chapter.

Nevertheless — I cracked up laughing when I saw Elon jumping up and down acting silly on stage with President Trump.  Then I realized that it’s just Elon being Elon.  Cringe?  Maybe a little.  Not “normal”, if you define normal by NOT LIKE EVERYONE ELSE?  Yep, without a doubt.

Authentic.  Off-the-cuff.  Real.  And my slight derision turned to nodding, and a knowing; because that’s ALWAYS a big part of the response when someone is their authentic self, no longer trying to fit the societal cookie-cutter mold.  Yeah… me too, Elon.  Good for you.

Back to Tim Walz.  Tim didn’t have that shift from derision, nor did he find himself identifying with Elon’s free expression of real excitement, like I did.  How do I know?  Well, today this happened.

Tim Walz attempted to INSULT Elon Musk…

TIM WALZ: “Elon Musk is on stage skipping and jumping around like a dipsh-t.”

ALSO TIM WALZ: pic.twitter.com/oUdiGXtHXi

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) October 22, 2024

And then, as anyone with a brain knows comes next, the trolling appeared.  First it was the average (but still hilarious) posts that I find myself doom scrolling while I should be finishing this story.

Tim Walz walking on stage at a rally #CTESPN pic.twitter.com/oTFUUq4d7p

— AB (@AB84) October 23, 2024

BREAKING: Tucker Carlson says that VP nominee Tim Walz “looks super, super gay.” pic.twitter.com/pOh44l7dhg

— Leading Report (@LeadingReport) October 22, 2024

If those two posts were the end of the uproar, I would be satisfied.  In fact, they almost seem to go together!  (Am I the only one who can actually hear Tucker Carlson’s voice saying that?)

But then… bigger trolls arrived.  (Watch the video on the right…)

TIM WALZ: “Elon Musk is on stage skipping and jumping around like a dipsh-t.”

ALSO TIM WALZ: pic.twitter.com/oUdiGXtHXi

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) October 22, 2024

And then?  Then President Trump’s campaign got involved.  Bigger trolls?  The biggest trolls — and out came the simple, elegant, and just-disrespectful-enough response troll video.

I hereby present to you my favorite election year response video to date, featuring the infamous Tim Walz, and his classic skipping and jumping routine — made possible by the trolling Trump campaign!

“Jumping around, skipping like a dipshit” featuring Tampon Tim Walz: pic.twitter.com/vwpedNAZsU

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 22, 2024

The Trump War Room account on X put this as the subtitle:

“Jumping around, skipping like a dipshit” featuring Tampon Tim Walz

Oh, snap.  In twenty years if you ask me who “Tim Walz” was, this might just be the only thing I remember.  Hopefully it’s at least the very first thing that comes to my mind.

That’s actually not all he said, according to a story put out by The Hill covering the moment during Walz’ speech at an event today.  He also tried to insinuate that Elon Musk is trying to somehow run alongside JD Vance, or… something…???

Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz blasted billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday for his relationship with former President Trump, mocking his appearance at a recent Trump rally and warning of Musk’s role in government if the Trump wins another White House term.

“I’m going to talk about his running mate — his running mate, Elon Musk,” the Minnesota governor told supporters at a rally in Wisconsin alongside former President Obama, implying Musk is usurping Trump’s actual running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio).

Meanwhile, security footage caught JD Vance personally overseeing the design and production of the Trump Campaign response video:

Trump War Room's current mood: pic.twitter.com/14WuqwVFGz

— Graham Allen (@GrahamAllen_1) October 22, 2024

At some point while writing this story (I’ll use the term loosely, at this point), I realized I hadn’t seen any direct response from Elon Musk.  After a few keystrokes, I found what also only amounted to a few keystrokes from Elon.  Apparently, he didn’t deem the attempted insult very worthy of a top-shelf response.

But I could feel the heat in his response to this post, nonetheless.  And the confidence.

You’re gonna lose, @Tim_Walz 🤡

Saving the American people from the torture of hearing you speak for 4 years was worth it 😂

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 22, 2024

I did find Elon’s only response (that I’m aware of) shared directly to his account on X.  He shared a clip of Tim Walz being astounded that Elon is “literally the richest man in the world”, helping to “buy an election”.  (Which is factually not true and a complete twisting of clear facts, but that isn’t for this story.)

Here’s Tim’s jab, and Elon’s response.

Tim Walz claims Elon Musk is helping Trump buy an election.

FYI, Democrats are outspending Republicans almost 3:1 — That means it’s Kamala and Timmy who are trying to buy an election, not President Trump. pic.twitter.com/EBuWZoFWEt

— ALEX (@ajtourville) October 22, 2024

Democrats greatly outspend Republicans, have 90% of legacy media & online media on their side, 90% of Hollywood celebs and a massive number of organizers on the ground.

Frankly, it’s surprising that Republicans win at all! https://t.co/9l1NUILVl1

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 22, 2024

Blows were exchanged today.  Trolls did battle, and it got messy.  I feel as though lessons were learned; maybe?

It was Roger Stone who once said, “Lay low, play dumb, keep moving.”  And while I’m not sure Tim Walz is “playing” dumb, and I question his inability to “lay low”… I do expect him to keep moving, for now.  But “HOW” he moves… well, that’s a whole other issue entirely.