Tim Walz has been accused of peddling racial stereotypes after telling Kamala Harris he cannot handle anything hotter than a 'white guy taco'.
The Democrat's VP pick made the startling claim in a ten-minute chat between the pair posted to Harris's YouTube channel.
'Here's the deal,' the told Minnesota Governor told her. 'They said to be careful and let her know this, that black pepper is the top of the spice level in Minnesota, you know?'
The Vice-President peeled away laughing from the exchange, but the deprecatory remarks left a nasty taste in some viewers' mouths.
'This isn't cute,' tweeted David Marcus of Fox News. 'Walz is being used as a clown to mock white people.'
Kamala Harris peeled away laughing as her VP pick Tim Walz confessed his culinary conservatism: 'I have white guy tacos' he told her
Harris has yet to sit down for a press interview since being handed the Democratic nomination but she appeared to enjoy her cozy chat with Walz on a campaign stop in Detroit
Harris may not have yet sat down for a press interview in the 26 days since Joe Biden dropped out of the race, but even her chat with Walz set some teeth on edge.
They faced each other over what appeared to be a card table at Aretha's Jazz Cafe during a campaign stop in Detroit.
The pair were talking desultorily about food when the camera cut to a photo of the legendary black singer Aretha Franklin, and Walz was heard to mutter 'I have white guy tacos'.
'What does that mean? Like mayonnaise and tuna?' Harris replied.
'Pretty much ground beef and cheese,' Walz confessed.
'That's okay. Do you put any flavor in it?' his boss asked reassuringly.
'Uh, no,' he replied looking glum.
The personal chemistry which reportedly won Walz the pick over Pennsylvania's Josh Shapiro sparked an unpleasant reaction in many watchers.
'It's like a minstrel show lampooning white, Midwest stereotypes,' tweeted DC radio host Larry O'Connor.
'Black pepper is the top of the spice level in Minnesota, you know?' Walz told Harris
His exchange left a nasty taste in the mouth among some viewers
'You definitely like to spice up your military history,' spat @mazemoore, referencing the row over whether Walz exaggerated his record in the National Guard.
'It's political theater,' sighed Danny Hellman. 'Tim Walz has to take a submissive role as the flavor-challenged boring White man next to Kamala Harris's spicy, pepper-growing multicultural girl boss.'
And the Governor also managed to offend some cultured palates in his own home state.
'I really like Tim Walz, but as someone who also really likes cooking with flavor, I will tell you that black pepper is far from the top spice level in Minnesota,' wrote Minnesotan journalist Brian Shea.
But no-one runs for the White House without having their background chewed over, and some were quick to accuse Walz of being disingenuous as well as mocking.
In 2014 the keen amateur cook won the who that year's Minnesota Congressional Delegation Hotdish Off with a recipe for Turkey Trot Tater Tot Hotdish featuring nothing hotter than an onion.
By the time he entered the dish for the contest two years later, it had gained both paprika and chili powder among its ingredients.
'Weird thing to lie about, but lying simply comes naturally to the man who lied about his DUI, lied about being a retired command sergeant major, lied about carrying weapons in war, and happily encouraged and promoted books and articles falsely claiming that he was a combat veteran,' wrote Jerry Dunleavy IV.
The bizarre exchange concluded with Harris claiming: 'I'm the first vice president, I believe, who has ever grown chili peppers.'
But the Governor is no slouch in the kitchen and won the Minnesota Congressional Delegation Hotdish Off with his Turkey Trot Tater Tot Hotdish in 2014 and 2016
And some were quick to point out that both paprika and chili powder had been added to his prize-wining recipe by the time it scooped the prize for the second time
'I'm trying to expand my food knowledge,' Walz pleads.
'You know what?' Harris tells him. 'We've got some cantaloupes. You'll be fine.'
It did not take long for amateur historians to point out that Thomas Jefferson had grown chili peppers at his estate in Monticello.
'They're leaning into White Dudes for Harris,' tweeted Richard Hanania. 'It says you're sort of lame but secure enough to have a black female boss and still a good person.'
