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Like so much else about American politics in the Trump era, the role of the vice president on the campaign trail has changed, and Tim Walz and J. D. Vance are adapting in very different ways.

Fabrice Coffrini / AFP / Getty
Olympic sport climbing is divided into two medal events, speed and combined boulder and lead. In the lead format, athletes have six minutes to climb as high as they can, scaling a wall more than 15 meters high, without having seen the route beforehand. The steepest sections of the climb have a 42-degree reverse incline.

Tim Walz tells a compelling story. The vice-presidential candidate grew up working on a family farm. He’s a former high-school teacher and football coach. As governor of Minnesota, he passed laws lowering the cost of insulin and providing free school breakfast and lunch. He’s also been talking about something more intimate, though, in a way that few politicians do. Walz and his wife had their daughter, Hope, using in vitro fertilization.
So many different kinds of families exist because of IVF.

Imagine that you’re traveling for work this summer, somewhere far from home. The flight over is a little turbulent, but you’re excited to be away for a week or so. Then your return journey gets delayed. The airline puts you up in a nice hotel but can’t decide on a new departure date. Your employer booked the tickets, so you can’t do much about the situation. You start running out of clean clothes, and everyone back home starts wondering when you’re coming back.