Harris, Walz Hold First Rally Together

Philadelphia, 7 August 2024 (TDI): Tim Walz touted his rural roots and said Donald Trump would take the US “backwards” as he appeared for the first time as Kamala Harris’s running mate at a raucous Democratic Party rally in Philadelphia.

At the event on Tuesday night, the party’s new nominee for vice-president said their Republican rivals in November’s election were “weird as hell”.

The Minnesota governor spoke in front of thousands of supporters just hours after he was announced as Harris’s pick for the role.

The Trump campaign, meanwhile, was quick to attack Walz as a “dangerously liberal extremist”.

The 60-year-old is billed as someone who could clinch back rural and working-class voters who have gravitated to Trump in crucial Midwestern states.

At the rally in the key swing state of Pennsylvania, Harris, currently the United States vice-president, said she and Walz were the “underdogs” in what is likely to be a close election but had the momentum.

‘Fighter for Middle Class’

She introduced her VP candidate as “a fighter for the middle class, a patriot”.

Walz then recounted his small-town roots in Nebraska and his career as a teacher and national guardsman, before attempting to draw a contrast with Donald Trump.

Trump doesn’t know the first thing about service – because he is too busy serving himself, Walz said.

He got some of the loudest cheers of the night when he criticized former president’s criminal record, with chants of “lock him up” from those in the arena.

Walz also sparked applause when he invoked a viral attack line that caught the eye of the Kamala Harris campaign as she considered who would be her running mate.

These guys are creepy and just weird as hell, Walz said of their Republican challengers.

Also Read More: Kamala Harris formally chosen as Democratic nominee for president

The governor also said he cannot wait to debate Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance, that is, if he is willing to get off the couch and show up.

The pair mostly pitched themselves as defenders of individual freedoms, including on safety from gun violence and abortion rights.

Walz showed the plain-spoken, folksy style that has won applause from Democrats, as he took a jab at Republicans on the matter of abortion access.

“Mind your own damn business!” Walz said, drawing an ovation from the crowd of over 10,000 at Temple University.

Harris and Walz have just launched a five-day tour of key battleground states.