I sat down with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Saturday at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Remember Tim Walz? His running mate, former Vice President Kamala Harris, has been keeping a relatively low profile since leaving elected office earlier this year, but Walz is still out there talking — to Rachel Maddow, to Molly Jong-Fast, to David Remnick, and now to me — about what the Democrats could, should, and need to do to oppose Donald Trump and MAGA. I asked him what he’s running from — and if there’s anything he’s running for.

Below you’ll find an excerpt of our conversation for Today, Explained that’s been edited for clarity. You can also listen to the interview below or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Do you think these guys are still weird?

Oh, hell yes. Look, obsessing with choices people are making about their own lives that has absolutely zero to do with you. That is weird. That might be too soft. That is really unnecessary.

Did you watch the joint session this week?

Yeah, parts of it. I did.

I felt like the messaging from the Democrats was muddled at that joint session. Some didn’t show up at all. Some left early, some wore pink and held up these feeble signs that said, “False!” or “This is not normal.” We all saw Representative Al Green protest. But there wasn’t a unified message. Did you want to see something more unified from your party?

Yes. Other than bidding on an antique tea set or whatever was happening? Yes, I wanted something more than that. I’m hearing it from my constituents in Minnesota, and I’m hearing it across the country. There’s a primal scream of “Do something! Do something!”

Now I have the advantage — as a governor, I can do something. We can put up firewalls against them. You’re not going to demonize our people. We’re going to continue to make sure our children are fed. I called the premiers of Ontario and Manitoba and said, “Look, the official policy is theirs. But we like you. We like Canadians. We like what we trade together.”

When I get asked, “What should we be doing?” I’m probably the last guy. I didn’t get it done. And we needed to win. And that’s where we’re in this pickle because we didn’t win. But I’m being reflective of what I could have done better, what I should have done better.

I don’t have a big solution. But what I think for all of us, which is encouraging to me, these town halls — the kind of organic folks bringing up — there’s not going to be a charismatic leader right in and come up with this just perfectly delivered message. It’s going to get us out of this. It’s going to be a whole bunch of people who don’t want to see kids go hungry, who don’t want to see health care ripped apart, who don’t want to throw Ukraine under the bus on the side of Russia. Those folks are going to stand up and make a difference.

So yes, in answer........

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