US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on Tuesday (local time) heaped praise on her running mate Tim Walz, highlighting his proven record as Minnesota governor and in the Army National Guard. She said Walz will inspire people to dream big.
Speaking at a rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a battleground state, Harris, standing beside Walz, said, “He’s the kind of person who makes people feel like they belong and then inspires them to dream big. That’s the kind of vice president America needs.”
This was Harris’ first campaign appearance since the vice president announced her and Walz as his running mates on Tuesday. While they were campaigning together, Trump targeted them both, calling them the “most radical leftists.”
During the rally, Harris, the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to run on a major party ticket, referred to Walz as a husband, father, coach, veteran, congressman, governor. She predicted that he will get another title after the November 5 election: “Vice President of the United States.”
Walz, for his part, energized the crowd, saying they have a lot of work to do. He said now is the time to unite and defeat former US President and Harris’ Republican rival Donald Trump.
He said, “We have 91 days. Oh my God, it’s easy. We’ll sleep when we die.”
Describing his background, Walz described his upbringing in a small town in Nebraska, his 24-year tenure in the Army National Guard, and his previous careers as a high school social studies teacher and football coach.
Criticizing Trump, Walz accused him of creating chaos and division during his presidency from 2017 to 2021.
He said, “He (Trump) makes a mockery of our laws, spreads chaos and division, and that’s to say nothing of his record as president. He has been stunned by the COVID-19 crisis. He has ruined our economy and there is no doubt that violent crime has increased under Donald Trump’s rule. This doesn’t even count the crimes he has committed.”
She also criticized Republicans for curbing women’s reproductive rights, an issue that has plagued Republicans since a 2022 Supreme Court decision that ended women’s constitutional right to abortion.
“Even if this isn’t the choice we make for ourselves, there is one golden rule: mind your own business!” he said.
Since Harris named Walz as her vice presidential running mate, more than $20 million has been raised for the vice president’s campaign.
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign called Walz an “extreme left-wing liberal.” Trump himself expressed similar sentiments, calling Harris and Walz “the most radical left-wing duo in American history.”
“It’s no surprise that San Francisco liberal Kamala Harris wants West Coast candidate Tim Walz as her vice president — Walz has tried to mold Minnesota into the image of the Golden State during his tenure as governor,” said Trump campaign press secretary Carolyn Levitt.
On his Truth social platform, Trump said, “This is the most radical left-wing duo in American history. This has never happened before and never will. Crazy Kambla is really crazy. I hear there is a big movement to “bring back Crooked Joe.”
He claimed that US President Joe Biden, who withdrew from his re-election campaign last month, realises “he has made a historically tragic mistake” and will try to rejoin the election race.
Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance targeted Walz over his handling of protests that followed the killing of George Floyd, a black man, by a white police officer in Minneapolis in 2020. He said Walz was not assertive enough in dealing with rioters.
“The biggest problem with the selection of Tim Walz is not that he is Tim Walz himself. It says a lot about Kamala Harris that she will cave in to the most radical elements of her party when she has the opportunity,” Vance told reporters in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Walz won the No. 2 role by beating Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who has come under fire from progressive groups and pro-Palestinian activists for his support for Israel and his handling of protests at colleges sparked by the war in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Harris and Walz are expected to visit key states including Wisconsin, Arizona and Nevada after their joint rally in Philadelphia.
(With inputs from Reuters and AP)