In the waning days of 2024, a seemingly innocuous holiday video posted by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz spiraled into a cultural and political flashpoint, thanks to sharp criticism from Fox News host Sean Hannity. What began as a wholesome family moment—Walz and his wife Gwen decorating a Christmas tree with handmade ornaments—morphed into a lightning rod for partisan outrage, highlighting the deep divisions in American media and public discourse. This article delves into the origins of the controversy, the motivations behind Hannity’s remarks, the public’s reaction, and what this episode reveals about the state of holiday traditions in a polarized nation.
The Video That Started It All
On December 11, 2024, Tim Walz, the Democratic governor of Minnesota and former vice presidential candidate, shared a short video on social media. Addressed to his daughter Hope, who couldn’t return home for Christmas due to work, the video featured Walz and his wife Gwen standing in their family room, decorating what they called their “family tree.” Unlike the polished, glittering Christmas trees often seen in public displays, this one was adorned with a collection of homemade ornaments crafted by the Walz children over the years. Among them was a quirky “toilet paper roll angel,” which Walz highlighted with a chuckle, noting its sentimental value. The governor’s caption urged others to “share holiday traditions like decorating the tree with your kids, even if they’re out of town,” and he referenced the fictional Griswold family from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation to add a touch of humor.
To many viewers, the video was a heartwarming glimpse into the Walz family’s Midwestern values—emphasizing love, nostalgia, and the simple joys of parenting. Hope Walz amplified the moment by posting the video on TikTok, where she playfully called her parents “so Midwestern” and wished her followers a happy holiday season. The clip garnered hundreds of thousands of views, with comments praising the Walzes for their authenticity and relatability. For a politician often described as “America’s dad” during his 2024 campaign, the video seemed like a natural extension of his public persona: warm, approachable, and grounded.
Hannity’s Unexpected Attack
Enter Sean Hannity, one of Fox News’ most prominent conservative voices. On his December 12, 2024, primetime show, Hannity seized on the Walz video, framing it as an opportunity to skewer the governor and, by extension, the Democratic Party. Rather than focusing on the video’s familial warmth, Hannity described it as “cringeworthy” and “weird,” suggesting it was emblematic of Walz’s supposed out-of-touch liberalism. His commentary took a particularly pointed turn when he repeatedly referenced Walz’s support for a Minnesota bill mandating free menstrual products in school bathrooms, including those for boys. “I wonder if they put any feminine hygiene products on the tree?” Hannity quipped, doubling down moments later with, “If they believe so much in feminine hygiene products in boys’ bathrooms, why wouldn’t they put it on their Christmas tree?”
Hannity’s guests, Rachel Campos-Duffy and former Congressman Jason Chaffetz, piled on. Campos-Duffy suggested the Walzes seemed like “communists” for calling their tree a “family tree” instead of a “Christmas tree,” ignoring that the Walzes explicitly referred to it as a Christmas tree in the video and that “family tree” was a sentimental term for their ornament collection. Chaffetz mocked the toilet paper roll ornament, calling it embarrassing and contrasting the Walzes’ “basement vibes” with what he described as the patriotic fervor surrounding President-elect Donald Trump. The segment, labeled as “breaking news” on Fox News, transformed a private family moment into a political punching bag.
The Political Context
To understand Hannity’s approach, it’s worth examining the broader context. Tim Walz, a former high school football coach and National Guardsman, rose to national prominence as Kamala Harris’s running mate in the 2024 presidential election. His folksy demeanor and progressive policies, like the menstrual product bill, made him a polarizing figure. Conservatives, including Hannity, frequently targeted Walz’s legislative record, dubbing him “Tampon Tim” to mock his support for inclusive school policies. The Christmas tree video, though apolitical on its face, provided fresh fodder for Hannity to revisit this narrative, framing Walz as an oddball liberal whose values clashed with conservative ideals of patriotism and tradition.
Hannity’s remarks also tapped into a long-standing conservative media trope: the so-called “War on Christmas.” For years, Fox News has highlighted perceived slights against Christian holiday traditions, from secular greetings to unconventional decorations. By suggesting the Walzes were distancing themselves from the term “Christmas tree,” Hannity and his guests positioned the video as another skirmish in this cultural battle, despite the Walzes’ clear embrace of Christmas in the video itself.
Public Reaction: A Divided Response
The backlash to Hannity’s segment was swift and fierce, particularly on social media platforms like X and TikTok. Supporters of Walz decried the Fox News host for politicizing a wholesome family tradition. Many pointed out that handmade ornaments, including those made from household items like toilet paper rolls, are a common practice in American homes, especially among families with young children. “This is what normal families do,” one X user wrote. “Hannity’s the one who’s out of touch.” Others defended the Walzes’ use of “family tree” as a term of endearment, noting that many households have multiple Christmas trees with distinct purposes, such as one for sentimental ornaments and another for public display.
Critics of Hannity also highlighted the irony of his attack, given Fox News’s history of championing “traditional” Christmas values. By mocking a family’s heartfelt holiday ritual, Hannity appeared to undermine the very principles his network claims to uphold. Some even drew comparisons to past controversies, like the 2018 White House Christmas decorations under Melania Trump, which featured stark red trees that critics likened to dystopian imagery. “Hannity’s fine with red tampon trees in the White House but loses it over a toilet paper angel?” one commenter quipped.
On the other hand, Hannity’s audience and conservative commentators amplified his critique. Some echoed his view that the video was staged or awkward, with a few on X calling the Walzes “creepy” or “weird.” Others seized on the “family tree” phrasing to fuel narratives about liberal secularism, despite the video’s overt Christmas theme. These reactions underscored the tribal nature of the controversy, with each side interpreting the same video through vastly different lenses.
What This Says About America in 2025
At its core, the Hannity-Walz Christmas tree saga is less about ornaments or terminology and more about the state of American discourse. In an era where every action, no matter how personal, can be weaponized for political gain, a governor’s holiday video became a battleground for competing visions of identity, values, and tradition. Hannity’s decision to frame a family moment as a symbol of liberal excess reflects a broader trend in media: the need to generate outrage to sustain viewership. For his part, Walz’s choice to share the video publicly, knowing his national profile, invites scrutiny about the authenticity of political image-making.
The controversy also highlights the fragility of shared cultural touchstones. Christmas, often idealized as a unifying holiday, has become a lightning rod for partisan sniping, with both sides accusing the other of undermining its spirit. The Walzes’ video, with its emphasis on family and memory, could have been a point of connection across political divides. Instead, it became a Rorschach test, revealing more about the viewer’s biases than the video itself.
Looking Forward
As the holiday season progresses, the Walz family is likely to continue their traditions, undeterred by the media storm. Tim Walz, who has weathered political attacks before, may use the episode to reinforce his image as a relatable everyman, unfazed by elite media critiques. Hannity, meanwhile, will undoubtedly move on to the next outrage, his audience primed for fresh controversies.
For the rest of us, this episode offers a moment to reflect on what we value in our holiday traditions and how we navigate a world where even a Christmas tree can spark a culture war. Perhaps the real lesson is to cherish the small, imperfect moments—like a toilet paper roll angel—that make the season meaningful, no matter what the pundits say.
