Tim Walz Worried Face

Submission 294

Part of a series on Tim Walz. [View Related Entries]

About

Tim Walz Worried Face refers to an image macro series showing Governor Tim Walz looking worried during the October 2024 Vice Presidential Debate on CBS. Various screenshots of Walz's face on the debate stage went viral as reaction images on Twitter / X in October 2024. One particular image prevailed over the rest, however, and was often contrasted by an image (also taken from the VP Debate) of Senator J.D. Vance smirking and giving a side eye to the camera, known as the J.D. Vance side eye or J.D. Vance smirk.

Origin

On October 1st, 2024, the U.S. Vice Presidential Debate between Senator J.D. Vance and Governor Tim Walz aired on CBS. Within the first 15 minutes of the debate, Governor Walz made a worried expression that was first screenshotted and shared with no caption by X^[1] user @NathanLeamerDC, gaining over 900 likes in a day (shown below).

The first user to add a caption to the image was X^[2] user @bendellwerry a few minutes later on October 1st, writing, "'This next question is for you Governor Walz, could you please show us your browser history?'" receiving over 5,600 likes in a day (shown below).

Spread

In the following hours, multiple users on X spread the image of Walz looking worried via viral posts. For instance, on October 1st, 2024, X^[3] user @stclairashley tweeted the image, captioning it, "As the mother of a toddler, I know what that face means," receiving over 21,000 likes in a day (shown below).

During the same timeframe, X^[4] user @BasedTorba tweeted the Walz image, comparing it to J.D. Vance's smirk during the debate, captioned, "Visual summary of the debate," receiving over 53,000 likes in a day (shown below).

The meme spread elsewhere online as well, such as in a post by Redditor^[5] marshallthecatholic to /r/nbacirclejerk on October 1st, which likened Walz to Steph Curry "when the bull's test results come back negative," gaining over 1,200 upvotes in a day (shown below).

During the same timeframe, similar screencaps of Walz's expressions from the debate were included in memes. For instance, on October 1st, X^[6] user @RealJamesWoods shared a different image of Walz from the night, receiving over 29,000 likes in a day (shown below).

Viral usage of the image among conservative pundits and Donald Trump supporters was also mocked by other users online. For instance, on October 1st, X^[7] user @haydengise quoted Republican politician George Santos who posted the Walz image and said, "Caption this." @haydengise captioned Santos' tweet, "george santos when he was indicted for fraud," gaining over 27,000 likes in a day (shown below).

J.D. Vance vs. Tim Walz

After X^[4] user @BasedTorba compared Vance and Walz in a viral tweet, others online posted memes that compared the facial expressions of Vance and Walz from the debate. For instance, later on October 1st, 2024, X^[8] @netcapgirl tweeted a full-screen screencap of Vance's side eye, captioned, "jd vance like 'chat, how we feeling about this?'" referencing a livestream chat, like on Twitch. In a day, the tweet received roughly 46,000 likes (shown below).

h4 J.D Vance Side Eye

J.D. Vance Side Eye, also known as J.D. Vance Smirk, refers to an image of Ohio Senator J.D. Vance looking at the camera and smirking, performing a Side Eye expression, during the 2024 Vice Presidential Debate against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. The photo of Vance became a reaction image on Twitter / X and elsewhere in October 2024, often compared to a Tim Walz expression during the debate known as the Tim Walz Worried Face. The image was used to portray skepticism in memes. Vance was also compared to Jim Halpert from The Office because of the fourth-wall-breaking expression. Others noted that Vance repeatedly did the expression throughout the debate, inspiring speculation that he was trying too hard to become a meme, thereby making him cringe.