USA "Outsiders" Harris and Walz make their debut in Philadelphia
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her newly selected running mate Tim Walz appeared together for the first time at a campaign event to thunderous cheers.
07.08.2024, 04:37
SDA
Supporters of their party welcomed the duo to Philadelphia in the US state of Pennsylvania at the start of a tour of politically contested states that are likely to play a key role in the election in November.
"We are the underdogs in this race," said Harris about the election campaign against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance. She herself only moved into the front row two weeks ago after US President Joe Biden decided not to run again. "But we have the momentum and I know exactly what we're up against."
In Walz, she has a leader at her side, said Harris. He is "the kind of vice president America deserves". In her speech, the 59-year-old highlighted the political profile of her "running mate", emphasizing his support for military veterans, trade unions, liberal abortion rights and stricter gun laws, among other things. Just a few hours earlier, she had made him her running mate.
Walz has been governor of the state of Minnesota since 2019 and was previously a long-serving member of the House of Representatives. Before his political career, he worked as a teacher for a long time. The married father of two does not have a strong national profile, but is known for his down-to-earth and direct way of conveying political messages. His wife Gwen is also a teacher.
Walz goes straight for confrontation
In his new role, Walz promptly launched a verbal attack on the Republican opposition. The 60-year-old made fun of Trump and Vance, accusing them of mendacity. "Donald Trump doesn't fight for you or your family," Walz said of the ex-president - and then added, referring to his own childhood in the rural US state of Nebraska: "He never sat at a kitchen table like the one I grew up at, where we wondered how we were going to pay the bills. He sat at his country club in Mar-a-Lago and figured out how to cut taxes for his rich friends."
He was sarcastic about Trump's running mate Vance: "Like all normal people I grew up with in the heartland, J.D. studied at (the elite university) Yale, had his career financed by Silicon Valley billionaires and then wrote a bestseller in which he rails against the people in his home country," Walz mocked.
Trump speaks of "radical left-wing duo"
Trump himself had lashed out at Harris and Walz before the appearance. "This is the most radical left-wing duo in American history", the 78-year-old wrote on his online platform Truth Social. "There has never been anything like it and there never will be again." He also described Harris as "crazy".
Trump's running mate Vance has made a bumpy start in recent weeks. With regard to Walz, the senator from the state of Ohio chose similar words to Trump. The appointment underlines "how radical Kamala Harris is", Vance told journalists and accused the Democrat of having "listened to the Hamas wing of her own party".
Obama considers Walz an "ideal partner"
Walz is particularly supported by the left wing of the Democrats. This wing is more critical of Israel than the center of the party and has repeatedly questioned the Biden administration's Middle East policy recently. However, Walz himself has so far been rather reserved with regard to the situation in the Middle East.
He has also received support from within the party, for example from former US President Barack Obama. He praised his party colleague Harris for choosing an "ideal partner". Walz has "the values and integrity to make us proud". US President Biden also expressed his approval: the duo would "ensure that America continues to lead the world and fulfill its role as an indispensable nation".
After their tour of the particularly hotly contested "swing states", Harris and Walz are expected to attend the major Democratic Party convention in Chicago from August 19 to 22. Harris' official nomination should actually have taken place there, but was brought forward for bureaucratic reasons and handled digitally.
