Walz's 1st speech as the Democratic VP candidate commits to working across the aisle (2024)

Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, made their debut Tuesday night at a rally in Philadelphia.

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

Last night, at a rally in Philadelphia, Vice President Harris introduced the nation to her new running mate - Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

MARTÍNEZ: Last night, at a rally in Philadelphia, Vice President Harris introduced the nation to her new running mate - Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Part of the resume - he's a former high school football coach.

VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: And in 91 days...

(CHEERING)

HARRIS: ...The nation will know Coach Walz by another name - Vice President of the United States.

MARTIN: It was the first time the new Democratic ticket appeared together in person.

MARTÍNEZ: NPR White House correspondent Asma Khalid was there in the arena. So what was the new ticket like, Asma?

ASMA KHALID, BYLINE: Well, Harris and Walz walked out into this massive arena together. The campaign says that there were over 12,000 people there. It's the largest rally that they've had to date. A lot of people in the crowd were wearing red, white and blue light-up wristbands, so a lot of energy. Harris spoke first, and the governor of Minnesota, as you know, is not necessarily a household name to many, so she spent a lot of time just running through his resume and explaining why she chose him. She talked about his strong record on policies like paid family leave, gun safety and reproductive rights.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

HARRIS: After Roe was overturned, he was the first governor in the country to sign a new law that enshrined reproductive freedom as a fundamental right.

(CHEERING)

KHALID: Harris also laid out his personal story, describing him as this kind of folksy dad from the Midwest, a former member of the National Guard and a former high school teacher who became the faculty adviser for a gay-straight alliance - someone, she said, who comes from a different corner of the country than her but ultimately shares her same values.

MARTÍNEZ: All right. That was Harris on Walz. What about Walz? What did he have to say?

KHALID: So when he took the mic, he praised Harris for bringing joy back into this campaign and whatnot, and he also spoke a bit about his own background, but where he was most effective was in energizing the crowd when he went on the attack.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TIM WALZ: And make no mistake - violent crime was up under Donald Trump.

(APPLAUSE)

WALZ: That's not even counting the crimes he committed.

(CHEERING)

KHALID: He threw some verbal punches at both Trump and his running mate, JD Vance. And, you know, frankly, this is part of why Harris chose him - this belief that Walz could be an effective messenger to go on the attack against Trump and Vance. You know, a few weeks ago, Walz was making the rounds on cable news, and he started describing them as weird, and that is a label that stuck. It gained a lot of traction from other Democrats.

MARTÍNEZ: All right. So here we are - the Republican and Democratic ticket are set. Asma, what's the state of the race?

KHALID: Well, the race is extremely close. Harris keeps referring to herself as the underdog. Today, she and Walz are headed to two other critical states, Wisconsin and Michigan. Then they'll be in Arizona and Nevada later this week. Meanwhile, Trump is not campaigning in any of the presidential battleground states this week, though his vice presidential pick, JD Vance, is attempting to counterprogram, holding events in some of the states where the Democratic ticket is campaigning this week. You know, Republicans have been testing out a bunch of ways to respond. They don't seem to have found a definitive answer to Harris. They're trying to define her, and now they're also trying to define Walz, as being liberal extremists. At the same time, the Harris campaign is working to define itself, and, you know, at the moment, Harris seems to have momentum in her favor, but a lot can change during this brief period still we have of campaigning.

MARTÍNEZ: A lot can change - that is an (laughter) understatement, Asma.

KHALID: Yep.

MARTÍNEZ: That's NPR White House correspondent Asma Khalid. Thanks a lot.

KHALID: Good to talk to you.

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