After Vice President Kamala Harris tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro played gracious host for their first public campaign appearance together before a packed house at the Liacouras Center in North Philadelphia.
Walz introduced himself with his biography — born and raised in the Midwest, nearly 20 years a social studies teacher and football coach, a repeat marksmanship champion. He was in the Army National Guard for 24 years, reaching the rank of command sergeant major, making him the highest-ranking enlisted soldier to serve in Congress, where he represented a mostly rural southern Minnesota district for 12 years, using the office to champion veterans issues.
With that resume, one might not guess that he is considered a progressive Democrat.
Harris spoke about his accomplishments as governor of Minnesota and promised that, together, they would accomplish them for the country. Walz is a union supporter who helped enact an ambitious Democratic agenda for the state, including sweeping protections for abortion rights — eliminating nearly all restrictions Republicans had enacted in prior years, including a 24-hour waiting period and parental consent requirements — and new protections for transgender residents, making Minnesota refuge for families coming from out of state for treatment for trans children.
Harris said that she'd been looking, in her less than three weeks as a presidential candidate, for “a leader who would help unite our nation and move us forward, a fighter for the middle class, a patriot who believes as I do in the extraordinary promise of America.”
As running mate, Walz is a broadly palatable choice — someone who says politics should have more joy and who deflects dark and foreboding rhetoric from Republicans with a lighter touch, a strategy that the campaign has been increasingly turning to since Harris took over the top spot.
He lived up to his reputation for being plain spoken and telling dad jokes. He coined one of Democrats' buzziest campaign bits to date, calling Trump and Vance "just weird,” and he leaned into it on Tuesday night.
“I got to tell you, pointing out just an observation of mine,” he told the Philadelphia audience, “these guys are creepy and, yes, just weird as hell. That's what you see.”
He compared his own record to Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance, saying, “I can’t wait to debate the guy,” he said. “That is, if he’s willing to get off the couch and show up.”
Both Walz and Harris praised Gov. Josh Shapiro, who Walz beat out for the job. Shapiro got a star speaking role for the roll-out, drawing thunderous applause and, when he criticized Trump, chants of “He’s a weirdo.”
The introductory tour now moves on to the Midwest, visiting Eau Claire, Wisconsin. WCCO's Taylor Rivera will be reporting live from the event later on Wednesday. Then they're off to Michigan on Wednesday, and Arizona and Nevada on Saturday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.