Tim Walz’s Viral Friendship Bracelets at VP Debate Were a Gift from Daughter Hope. Here’s What They Say (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Chip Somodevilla/Getty

Tim Walzwas seen sportingtwo friendship braceletswhile participating in the vice presidential debate on Tuesday, Oct. 1. But what did they say, and where did he get them from?

The Harris-Walz campaign now tells PEOPLE that Walz’s daughter, Hope, gave her father the bracelets as a gift shortly before the Minnesota governor left for the debate at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City.

One of the bracelets says “Joyful Warrior” and the other says “Coach” — both phrases that have been used to describe the VP nominee since he joined Vice PresidentKamala Harris' White House ticket.

Second gentlemanDoug Emhoffhaslong called Harris a “joyful warrior,“and after both Harris and Walz received criticism from the right for bringing laughter to the 2024 campaign trail, Walz adopted the nickname too. The Harris-Walz campaign has also leaned into the name “Coach Walz” for the governor, referring to his previous role in coaching the Mankato West High School football team to their first state championship.

Debate viewers got a few brief glimpses of the friendship bracelets while Walz debated against Ohio Sen.J.D. Vance, and as he waved to supporters outside the event — though they were difficult to see in detail.

David Lienemann / Harris for President

Friendship bracelets are popular among fans ofTaylor Swift, who made waves forendorsingHarris and Walz in the upcoming election. Walz mentioned Swift during his closing statement at the end of Tuesday’s debate.

“And I’m as surprised as anybody of this coalition that Kamala Harris has built,” the governor said. “FromBernie Sandersto Dick Cheney to Taylor Swift, and a whole bunch of folks in between there. And they don’t all agree on everything, but they are truly optimistic people.”

He added, “They believe in a positive future of this country, and one where our politics can be better than it is.”

Walz threw out another pop culture reference during his closing statement — an apology to fans of the reality competition seriesDancing with the Stars, which was canceled on Tuesday night to not compete with the debate.

Democratic vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, smiles during a debate at the CBS Broadcast Center on October 1, 2024 in New York City.Chip Somodevilla/Getty

Walz shares daughter Hope andson Guswithhis wife, Gwen Walz, whom he met while they were both teaching in western Nebraska.

Hope was born in January 2001, and was reportedly named after the feeling that her parents got when they were finally able to conceive following years of fertility treatments. Gus, now 17, was born more than five years later, in October 2006.

Walz won his first election, for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, the same year his son was born, according tothe governor’s online biography.

Gus and Hope Walz send love to their dad, Tim Walz, as he accepts the VP nomination at the 2024 DNC.ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty

Walz has credited Hope with influencing his perspective as a lawmaker, including after the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Fla., when she approached him about gun control.

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Reflecting on the moment during an episode ofPod Save Americathat same July, Walz said “For me, it was both a reckoning and an embarrassment.”

Two weeks after the interview, Walz announced in an op-ed for theMinneapolis Star-Tribunethat he’d donated $18,000 that the National Rifle Association (NRA) had donated to his past campaigns and vowed not to take their money again in the future. He also supports bans on bump stocks and assault weapons, and has signed multiple gun safety measures into law as governor.

source: people.com