Campaign

Recap: Walz hits Trump, Vance in first campaign stop with Harris

Vice President Harris and running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz introduced themselves to a full house with plenty of applause in Philadelphia on Tuesday evening.

Harris praised Walz’s accomplishments and set him up for a lightning-fast campaign: He “really does shine a light on a brighter future that we can build together.”

She offered his credentials to a crowd that roared in approval at times.

And Walz drew raucous applause for his support of Harris but also his sharp attacks on the Trump-Vance campaign.

Harris ended weeks of speculation Tuesday by choosing Walz as her running mate.

“Tim is a battle-tested leader who has an incredible track record of getting things done for Minnesota families,” the Harris campaign texted supporters at midmorning.

Walz called serving as Harris’s running mate the “honor of a lifetime.” 

Follow along here for live updates on the announcement, reaction and more.

3 months ago

Sanders hits Republicans over Walz criticism

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Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) sarcastically said he would pay for Republican ads attacking Vice President Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) over issues like cutting prescription drug prices and raising the minimum wage.

“And I wonder, if his record as governor is gonna be this attack line from [former President] Trump and his allies, how you think he should respond to that?” CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins said on “Erin Burnett OutFront” of Walz.

“Well, I don’t wanna give Trump’s people any advice, but I would suggest if they wanna do that, they should read some of the polling,” Sanders said. “If Governor Walz believes, for example, that we should cut the price of prescription drugs in this country in half, to what they are around the rest of the world, over 70 percent of the American people believe that. You wanna attack him for being radical? I’ll help pay for the ad. ‘Walz believes we should cut prescription drugs in half, vote for Trump,’ I don’t think so.”

“The American people overwhelmingly believe, as the governor does, that we should raise the minimum wage to a living wage,” Sanders continued. “If the Republicans want to attack Walz and Kamala Harris for wanting to raise the minimum wage, I’ll help contribute to those advertisements.”

— Tara Suter

3 months ago

Walz: With 91 days to go, ‘We’ll sleep when we’re dead’

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“We’ve got 91 days,” Walz said while closing out his speech. “We’ll sleep when we’re dead.”

“Over those next 91 days and every day in the White House, I will have Vice President Harris’s back,” he continued. “And we’ll have yours.”

“You know how this works,” he said. “We need you each and every one of you.”

— Yash Roy

3 months ago

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Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff along with her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen Walz pictured on stage post rally appearance.

3 months ago

Walz attacks Vance: ‘I can’t wait to debate the guy’

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“JD Vance literally wrote the foreword for the Project 2025 agenda,” Walz said. “Like all regular people I grew up with in the heartland, JD studied at Yale, had his career funded in Silicon Valley billionaires, and then wrote a bestseller trashing that community. C’mon. That’s not what middle America is.”

“I can’t wait to debate the guy,” Walz said. “That is, if he’s willing to get off the couch and show up.”

The crowd went wild. “See what I did there?”

“These guys are creepy,” he continued, “and yes, just weird as hell. That’s what you see.”

— Yash Roy

3 months ago

Walz goes on attack against Trump

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“Donald Trump sees the world a little differently than us,” Walz said. “First of all, he doesn’t know the first thing about service; he doesn’t have time for it because he’s too busy serving himself.”

“Trump weakens our economy to strengthen his own hand,” he continued. “He froze in the face of the COVID crisis. He drove our economy into the ground.

“Make no mistake, violent crime was up under Donald Trump, and that’s not even counting the crimes he committed,” Walz said.

— Yash Roy

3 months ago

Walz to Harris: ‘Thank you for bringing back the joy’

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In his first speech as presumptive vice presidential nominee, Walz graciously thanked Harris for her invitation to join the ticket.

“Thank you for the trust you have put in me,” Walz said to Harris. “Thank you for bringing back the joy. I am thrilled to be on this journey with you and Doug.”

Walz also shouted out to Shapiro, the other leading contender to be Harris’s running mate.

“Pennsylvania, I know you know this,” Walz said. “My god, what a treasure you guys have in Josh Shapiro. Holy hell can this guy bring the fire.”

He nodded to their shared experience at a Bruce Springsteen concert and marveled at his quick repair of a Philadelphia bridge collapse.

“When you need a bridge fixed, call that guy,” he added.

— Yash Roy

3 months ago

Harris says Walz will be ready on day one

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Harris said Walz “really does shine a light on a brighter future that we can build together.”

“In his state, he has been a model chief executive, and with his experience, I am telling you Tim Walz will be ready on day one.”

She also pointed to his credentials on reproductive freedoms and gun control.

“After Roe was overturned, he was the first governor in the country to sign a law that enshrined reproductive freedom as a fundamental right,” Harris said. “He has shown up to defend these rights long before he got up on this stage.

“He is a hunter and a gun owner and like a majority of gun owners in this country he believes in sensible gun control,” she said. “He expanded background checks and increased penalities for illegal firearm sales.”

— Yash Roy

3 months ago

Harris says VP matchup is between ‘varsity team and the JV squad’

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In praising her running mate, Harris did not shy away from comparing him to former President Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance.

“In fact, when you compare his resume against Trump’s running mate,” she said. “It’s like a matchup between the varsity team and the JV squad.”

— Yash Roy

3 months ago

Harris campaign crosses $20 million raised

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The Harris campaign said it had raised more than $20 million since the announcement Tuesday morning of Walz as the vice president’s running mate.

— Brett Samuels

3 months ago

Harris lauds Walz’s congressional record

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Among a list of accomplishments, Harris nodded to Walz’s representation of a purple congressional district — and a distinction while he was in Congress.

“He was the highest ranking enlisted man to ever serve in the United States Congress and the top Democrat on the veterans committee.

“He was known as one of Capitol Hill’s best marksmen, winning a bipartisan sharpshooting contest year after year.”

She lauded his work to “raise the minimum wage, to protect the freedom of workers to join a union, and he cast one of the critical votes to pass the Affordable Care Act,” she added.

“He inspires people to dream big,” Harris said. “And, that’s the kind of Vice President he will be, and that’s the kind of Vice President America deserves.”

— Yash Roy

3 months ago

Harris highlights Walz’s story before politics

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“He is the proud product of a middle class family in rural Nebraska,” she said. “He is a proud veteran … He went to college on the GI bill.

“He is someone who, long before he entered politics, worked as a teacher,” she said. “When Tim Walz and his wife moved from Nebraska to Minnesota thirty years ago they both took jobs at their local high school.”

Harris also highlighted his coaching record at high school, where Walz led his team from a winless record to state champions, as well as the story of Walz helping start the school’s first Gay Straight Alliance club.

“Tim knew the signal it would send to have a football coach involved,” she said of Walz’s decision to sign up to be the high school’s first Gay Straight Alliance club faculty adviser.

— Yash Roy

3 months ago

Harris introduces Walz by all of his titles: Governor, dad, coach

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Harris said Walz is a “fighter for the middle class” and a “patriot who believes in the promise of America.”

“I set out to find a partner who would help build this brighter future. A leader who will help unite our nation and move us forward. A fighter for the middle class. A patriot who believes as I who believe in the extraordinary promise of America. A promise of freedom and opportunity and justice not just for some but for all,” she said.

“So Pennsylvania I am here today because I found such a leader,” she said.

— Yash Roy

3 months ago

Harris: ‘We have the momentum’

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Speaking just two weeks after launching her presidential campaign, Harris, alongside her vice presidential pick, Walz declared, “We are the underdogs,” she said. “But, we have the momentum.”

— Yash Roy

3 months ago

Harris and Walz take the stage to raucous crowd

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Vice President Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) walked on stage shortly before 6 p.m., making their first public appearance together as running mates.

Harris and Walz were greeted with raucous applause from the crowd of roughly 10,000 people, many of whom wore wristbands that lit up red, white and blue.

They entered to the song “Freedom” by Beyoncé, clapping and waving to those in attendance.

– Brett Samuels

3 months ago

Harris campaign rolls out Harris-Walz merch

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The Harris campaign has unveiled its first set of Harris-Walz merch, including a camouflage hat that says Harris-Walz.

Walz was wearing a camouflage hat when Harris called him to offer the vice presidential spot on the Democratic ticket.”You asked, we answered,” the webpage showing the hat reads.

“The most iconic political hat in America.”

— Yash Roy

3 months ago

Shapiro gets rock star’s welcome, lights up crowd

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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro received a rock star welcome in Philadelphia as he prepared to introduce Harris and Walz.

Shapiro walked into the venue at Temple University to roaring applause from supporters.

“I’m going to be working my tail off to make sure we make Kamala Harris and Tim Walz the next leaders of the United States of America,” Shapiro said.

The Pennsylvania governor went on to praise Walz as a “dear friend,” “a great man,” and a patriot.

The governor also praised Walz’s use of the term “weird.”

“Tim Walz in his beautiful Midwestern, plain spoken way, he summed up JD Vance the best: ‘He’s a weirdo,’” Shapiro said.

— Julia Manchester

3 months ago

Harris to vow a campaign for ‘all Americans’

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Vice President Harris will use her remarks to tell supporters that she and Walz would campaign and govern “on behalf of all Americans.”

“My promise to you is this: our campaign will reach out to everyone.  From red states to blue states. From the heartland to the coasts,” Harris will say, according to excerpts from her campaign.

“We are running a campaign on behalf of All Americans,” she will say. “And if elected, we will govern on behalf of all Americans.”

— Brett Samuels

3 months ago

Packed house in Philly

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The Temple University arena in Philadelphia was packed, with every seat taken, meaning about 10,000 people.

The crowd’s cheers can be deafening, which is a marked change from a much smaller rally in the same city a little more than two months ago with Biden and Harris.

Ahead of Gov. Shapiro’s introductory remarks, an unseen emcee led attendees in singing along to Ludacris’ “Move B—-“

“What we telling Trump?” the emcee asked as enthusiastic listeners sang back, “Move b—-! Get out the way!”

3 months ago

Cherelle Parker: ‘Our North Star’ is electing Harris and Walz

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Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker (D) offered a full endorsement for Walz at the Philadelphia rally only a few days after her team prematurely posted a video on her X celebrating Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-Penn.) as Harris’s vice presidential pick.

“They will try to divide us,” she said. “But, the only North Star that should be in all of our hearts should be making sure Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are the next president and vice president.”

Parker specifically mentioned Walz’s record as a teacher and expanding access to education while governor of Minnesota.

“To our vice presidential candidate, I am glad, sir, that you are an educator, you know the power of public education,”  she said. “I want you to know that we paid attention to your work in Minnesota — free college tuition for low-income students, free meals for school children, protection for the LGBT community, standing up for unions and workers.”

— Yash Roy

3 months ago

Shapiro, Fetterman, Casey join Harris and Walz at rally

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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) as well as Sens. John Fetterman (D) and Bob Casey (D), are speaking before Harris and Walz take the stage in Philadelphia.

“Today, we are all team Harris Walz today right now,” Fetterman said. “Pennsylvania picks the president, and we did that in 2020, and we will do it again in three months.”

“This election is about moving our country forward with Vice President Harris and Governor Walz or a couple of really, really, really weird dudes,” he added.

“Are you ready to win for everyone on our ticket,” Casey said. “This is a race about working families.”

Casey focused his speech on his opponent, Dave McCormick, hitting him for “flying in on private jets from Connecticut” to campaign in Pennsylvania.

— Yash Roy

3 months ago

Jamie Harrison opens Harris-Walz Philadelphia rally

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The chair of the Democratic National Committee, Jamie Harrison, opened the rally where Harris and Walz will appear for the first time as the Democratic nominees for president and vice president.

“They represent the future of our party and our nation,” Harrison said. “I have known Tim for almost 20 years, and the governor is the perfect person to help her deliver for the American people, his life is marked by public service.”

“My friends, this ticket is set,” he added. “We know exactly who we are and who are competition is, and we know exactly why we are going to win this race.”

— Yash Roy

3 months ago

Former GOP House member endorses Walz

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Former Rep. Charles Djou (R-Hawaii) said Walz is someone “who can calmly and humbly serve the nation” based on his personal experience with the presumptive Democratic nominee for vice president.

“Tim Walz is a normal guy,” he wrote in a column in Fox News. “I say this as a former Republican representative who served with Tim in Congress. In these times of bitter political division, America needs someone who can calmly and humbly serve the nation without all the unnecessary shouting and bluster that too often defines our politics today.”

Djou also pointed to their shared experience as veterans in Congress and Walz’s willingness to “listen, collaborate, and find pragmatic solutions” that “earned him respect from not just Democrats but also Republicans like me.”

“America needs a gracious and kind individual who talks as a friendly neighbor, understands your community like a local high school football coach, knows the commitment of military service as a veteran and advocates policies for all Americans — not just for Republicans or Democrats,” he wrote.“This is exactly my friend Tim Walz.”

— Yash Roy

3 months ago

Walz expected to rip Trump in rally remarks

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Walz will use his first appearance as Harris’s running mate to contrast his background with that of former President Trump, according to excerpts from the campaign.

“Minnesota’s strength comes from our values — our commitment to working together, to seeing past our differences, to lending a helping hand,” Walz will say. “These same values I learned on the family farm and tried to instill in my students, I took to Congress and the state capital, and now, Vice President Harris and I are running to take them to the White House.

“Donald Trump — he sees the world differently,” Walz will say. “He doesn’t know the first thing about service — because he’s too busy serving himself.”

— Brett Samuels

3 months ago

Doug Emhoff to Gwen Walz: ‘Let’s get to it’

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Second Gentlemen Doug Emhoff spoke with Gwen Walz after Harris offered her husband the vice presidential slot on the Democratic ticket, telling her that he’s “got her back.”

“I remember getting this call four years ago,” Emhoff said. “I know what you’re going through right now. The good news is that I’ve already been through it. Just like Dr. Biden was there for me, I want to be there for you.”

“We are going to win this election together,” he added. “Let’s get to it.”

“We are so excited and thrilled and honored and we are just ready to win,” Walz said in response. “We will do everything that we can.”

Harris, Emhoff and the Walzes will meet later on Tuesday in Philadelphia, where Harris and Walz are scheduled to speak at a rally.

— Yash Roy

3 months ago

Harris campaign raises $10 million after Walz announcement

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The Harris campaign says it’s raised more than $10 million in the roughly six hours since it announced Walz was joining the ticket.

The campaign said the total made it one of its best fundraising days of the cycle. Both Harris and Walz are scheduled to join a virtual grassroots fundraising call with donors following their rally in Philadelphia.

— Brett Samuels

3 months ago

Ocasio-Cortez celebrates Walz pick as ‘generational shift’

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said she believes Harris’s decision to pick Walz as her running mate was a “generational shift” and a “watershed moment.”

“I do think that this selection of Walz feels like a watershed moment,” she said on Instagram live. “It does feel like a generational shift. And by that I mean the generation of the kinds of politics that the Democratic Party is starting to practice now is a real departure from what has been practiced in years past.”

She added that the decision showed that the Democratic Party was moving back to “its actual roots of a populist working class party.”

“I am looking forward to a Democratic Party that is moving past the kind of ’90s era, triangulation politics, and moving and getting back to our roots of being FDR Democrats,” she said.

“I think that Tim Walz does that. I think that Kamala Harris does that,” she added.

Ocasio-Cortez also pointed to the fact that Walz’s pick has united the Democratic Party ranging from her to moderate Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.)

“A reporter had tweeted saying both someone like me and Joe Manchin are supportive of Tim Walz,” she said. “That really is no small feat. I am trying to think about the last time Senator Manchin and I were on the same side of an issue, and it’s not common or often that you see that. And so it really speaks to how powerfully uniting this is.”

— Yash Roy

3 months ago

Harris shares phone call asking Walz to be VP

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The Harris campaign shared video of a Tuesday morning phone call where the vice president asks Walz to join her ticket.

Harris, in a suit, rang up Walz, who appeared to be at home in Minnesota in just a T-shirt, slacks and camo hat.

“Listen, I want you to do this with me. Let’s let’s do this together,” Harris said. “Would you be my running mate? And let’s get this thing on the road.”

“I would be honored, Madam Vice President,” Walz responded. “The joy that you’re bringing back to the country, the enthusiasm that’s out there. It will be a privilege to take this with you across the country.”

Harris then expanded on why she was choosing Walz.

“Let me say I have just utmost respect for you,” she said. “I have really enjoyed our work together, and you understand our country you have dedicated yourself to our country in so many different in beautiful ways.”

“And we’re going to do this we’re going to win,” she continued. “And we’re going to unify our country and remind everyone that we are fighting for the future for everyone.”

— Nick Robertson

3 months ago

Democratic National Convention: ‘Chicago will proudly welcome’ Harris, Walz

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The Democrat National Convention extended an enthusiastic invitation to Vice President Harris and her newly announced running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), Tuesday in a post online.

“Chicago will proudly welcome @KamalaHarris and @Tim_Walz as our nominees for President and Vice President of the United States!” the group wrote on social media platform X.

“Our convention will be a crucial moment for our party and country to come together and rally around our nominees,” they added.

The convention is set for Aug. 19-22 in Chicago — a short drive south from where former President Trump accepted the Republican nomination last month, in Milwaukee.

— Steff Danielle Thomas

3 months ago

Pelosi hits back at GOP critics of Walz

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Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) pushed back on the GOP critics labeling Walz as “far-left,” saying he is “right down the middle.”

“Tim Walz is wonderful,” Pelosi said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “And she had many good choices among the six and certainly among the two — I’m a big fan of [Pennsylvania Gov.] Josh Shapiro.”

“Tim Walz, I know very well … he served in the House,” she added. “To characterize him as left is so unreal.”

Her praise of the Minnesota governor came shortly after Harris announced she tapped Walz as her vice-presidential candidate in preparation for a faceoff against former President Trump in November.

— Miranda Nazzaro

3 months ago

Harris, Walz to host fundraiser after rally

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Harris and Walz will host a virtual grassroots fundraiser together, their first as the Democratic ticket, on Tuesday night after their Philadelphia rally.

Harris promoted the event on X, urging donors to contribute any amount in order to join.

— Brett Samuels