Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz made their first public appearance on the campaign trail in Pennsylvania.
Harris announced Walz as her running mate on Tuesday morning.
Along with Walz, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, United States Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear were under consideration for Harris' VP pick.
Shapiro gave a full-throated introduction of Harris in Philadelphia.
Critics of Shapiro compared his appearance at the Philadelphia rally to former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's 2004 presidential run. Josh Shapiro goes FULL Howard Dean. pic.twitter.com/qKm7M2LhGD
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 6, 2024
After Harris spoke, the vice president contrasted herself and Walz with former president Donald Trump and his running mate Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance.
"Tim Walz will be ready on day one," Harris said of the Minnesota governor. "In fact, when you compare his resume ... to Trump's running mate ... well, some might say it's like a matchup between the Varsity team and the JV squad." VP: Tim Walz will be ready on day one. When you compare his resume to Trump’s running mate… some might say it’s like a matchup between the Varsity team and the JV squad pic.twitter.com/rIC4B1JHQn
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 6, 2024
When Walz took the stage, he claimed crime numbers had skyrocketed under the Trump administration, adding the former president "weakens our economy to strengthen his own hand."
"He mocks our laws. He sows chaos and division. And that's to say nothing of his record as president," Walz said before claiming Trump "froze" during the COVID-19 pandemic. "He drove our economy into the ground. And make no mistake, violent crime was up under Donald Trump."
"That's not even counting the crimes he committed," the Minnesota governor quipped. Walz: Make no mistake, violent crime was up under Donald Trump…. That’s not even counting the crimes he committed pic.twitter.com/SIhPdq0DCF
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 6, 2024
Walz then referenced a false claim trending across social media that Vance engaged in sexual activity with home furniture.
"Like all regular people I grew up with in the heartland, J.D. studied at Yale, had his career funded by Silicon Valley billionaires, and then wrote a best seller trashing that community," Walz said, mocking Vance's education and 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy. "Come on. That's not what middle America is. And I gotta tell you, I can't wait to debate the guy."
"That is if he's willing to get off the couch and show up," Walz joked. Walz: And I got to tell you, I can't wait to debate the guy. That is if he's willing to get off the couch and show up. pic.twitter.com/sz7qkFIFFg
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 6, 2024
"In Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and their personal choices that they make," Walz said. "Even if we wouldn’t make the same choice for ourselves, there’s a golden rule, mind your own damn business.” Walz: In Minnesota we respect our neighbors and their personal choices that they make. Even if we wouldn't make the same choice for ourselves, there's a golden rule, mind your own damn business. pic.twitter.com/TRQNlbySlE
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 6, 2024
On Tuesday, Vance suggested Shapiro's snub for VP was due to antisemitism in the Democratic Party.
"We know that the people who were considered were Josh Shapiro, Mark Kelly, and this guy Tim Walz and we know that Josh Shapiro in particular was attacked mercilessly from the far left for being Jewish, for not being anti-Israel enough," Vance said during an appearance on Fox News, noting Shapiro had distanced himself from previous statements in recent weeks. "The fact that you're letting antisemites within the Democrat Party drive so much of the conversation and so much of the decision making for Kamala Harris is a really worrying sign."
"I don't care ultimately who Kamala Harris selects, but I don't want the vice-presidential nomination of any party being determined by whether you have the right ethnic background. It's profoundly anti-American," he added.
