Klobuchar's Attempt to Seem Relatable, Show Fandom for Home Team Before NFL Opener, Goes Viral Thanks to Zero-Effort Pandering
Fun fact for the unaware: Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s dad, Jim, was actually a legend in his own right in her native Minnesota. This was because he was a writer — mostly of politics and sports — for the hometown Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
In fact, after the 1976 edition of the Purple People Eaters became the first team to lose four Super Bowls, Jim co-wrote a book titled, “Will the Vikings Ever Win the Super Bowl?” (They haven’t been back since and Jim is dead, so the short answer: Not in his lifetime, anyway.)
And if this year’s edition of the team puts in as much effort as his daughter did on opening day, things aren’t looking so hot this year, either.
Now, props to the Vikings for looking good on opening day, beating the Green Bay Packers in a Week 1 matchup by scoring 29 unanswered points to win 39-22. Granted, new quarterback acquisition Kyler Murray ended up with a concussion and his replacement, who led the furious comeback, is former Philadelphia Eagles starter Carson Wentz — himself an injury magnet.
But, hey, if a Trent Green injury can turn a grocery-store stock-boy into a Hall of Fame quarterback, maybe a Murray concussion can turn Wentz into a tank. Who knows? They can make Jim Klobuchar proud after all, maybe.
What he wouldn’t be proud of is his daughter’s low-effort attempt at pandering.
Of course, like any good candidate — she’s looking to become the state’s next governor after Tim Walz decided he’d been sufficiently concussed by the Somali fraud scandal to bench himself on the Democrat side — she was out front celebrating the Vikes’ season opener.
“Game Day against the Packers,” Klobuchar posted. “Time to get out the shirt.”
Game Day against the Packers.
Time to get out the shirt. pic.twitter.com/gjzj8Z1IMK— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) September 13, 2026
Okay, fair enough. It’s not wordy. It’s, you know, a post. What’s wrong with it?
Well, as it turns out, Klobuchar has been “getting out the shirt” by reposting this exact same photo since 2023, as Dustin Grage of Townhall.com noted:
Amy Klobuchar has now used the exact same photo to ring in the Vikings season opener four years in a row.
So authentic. pic.twitter.com/Axy8DcviDT
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) September 14, 2026
Now, in all sorta-fairness, Klobuchar apparently did wear the shirt on Sunday, as her appearance at a union event showed:
Spent Sunday with Teamsters Local 120 celebrating union strength and raising money for Homes For Our Troops, which builds homes for injured post-9/11 veterans. Thank you for everything you do for our state — I’m proud to have your endorsement. pic.twitter.com/h287YyFr0G
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) September 14, 2026
However, how low-effort is your campaign that you can’t even take a new picture with the shirt to go with the “Go city name sports team so happy for the new season!” boilerplate social media post every candidate is statutorily required to make?
For that matter, what social media team member of a major political candidate who’s known for a mercurial temper doesn’t remind their boss that, hey, people aren’t Joe Biden and can actually remember stuff that happened a year ago? If Jim were alive and this weren’t his daughter, his next book might be called “Will an Amy Klobuchar Staffer Ever Get Away Without Being Hit By a Comb?” (Same answer as that Vikings book, sadly.)
As for Klobuchar herself, this is the kind of thing that indicates just why she’s effectively reached the Peter Principle point of her career.
She knows she’s the odds-on favorite to win the governorship in Minnesota, which leans Democrat. Her folksy run at the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination earned her more attention than she expected, but nowhere near enough to win or be in the vice presidential sweepstakes. That’ll continue for the foreseeable future.
But jeez, Amy. If your interns and staffers can’t make the NFL opening day pandering effort for you, can they at least make the effort for your dad?
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