Coach Walz's primetime debut: Four takeaways from the first Harris-Walz rally
Say hello to Coach Tim Walz. I mean, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Or if you’re Kamala Harris, hopefully it will be Vice President Tim Walz.
Walz, the newly-anointed Democratic vice presidential candidate, made his primetime debut on Tuesday to a crowd of roughly 14,000 at Temple University's Liacouras Center in Philadelphia. All major news networks were turned to the rally, where Harris and Walz were first seen together as the full 2024 Democratic ticket.
In about two weeks, Harris has skyrocketed to the top of the Democratic ticket after President Joe Biden last month stepped down from the 2024 presidential election. Harris quickly locked in the support from leaders within her party, but that also meant she had to quickly decide who would be her second-in-command. Harris will take on Republican presidential nominee and former president Donald Trump in November.
Walz, a former teacher, former congressman and a veteran, was hardly known outside his state just a couple of days ago. But he was thrust into the American political spotlight on Tuesday, as Harris hopes he will help secure a win to the Oval Office.
But what does it all mean? Here are the top takeaways from Tuesday’s rally:
Welcoming Walz
Are you wondering ‘who is Tim Walz?’ Harris on Tuesday gave an answer.
Repeatedly referring to him as Coach Walz, Harris tried to draw contrast between the Minnesota governor and the candidate on the Republican ticket. She noted Walz is a veteran – he served in the Army National Guard; she highlighted his 12-year career as a congressman representing a purple district; she emphasized his quick response to protecting women’s reproductive health as governor after a Supreme Court ruling overturned Roe v. Wade.
But most importantly, Harris looked to ground Walz as not a politician, but simply a high school teacher and football coach who helped lead the team to the school’s first-ever state championship.
Harris, a California Democrat, showcased a candidate that sounds like many Americans: a teacher, a coach, and a veteran. It was an attempt to showcase how different the Democratic ticket is compared to the Republican, where Trump – a reality-TV show businessman – and Republican vice presidential candidate, Sen. JD Vance, are heading the ticket.
Walz, himself, tried to offer a new perspective on Vance, who has leaned into his Appalachian roots.
“Like all regular people I grew up with in the heartland,” Walz said sarcastically, “JD studied at Yale, had his career funded by Silicon Valley billionaires, and then wrote a bestseller trashing that community.
“Come on!” Walz yelled. “That's not what Middle America is.”
The battle of the vice presidential hopefuls
Hours before Walz made his debut as Harris’ vice presidential pick, Vance held his own rally in Philadelphia to counter the Democrats’ primetime event.
But that doesn’t seem to be worrying Walz.
Even before being picked, Walz coined Democrats’ top insult to Republicans: Weird.
It’s an insult that’s gotten under the skin of many in the GOP, including the vice presidential pick, Vance. It’s going to be a dynamic that will be played out in the next 90 days until the general election.
On Tuesday, Walz slammed Vance as “creepy” and “just weird as hell.” And he quickly offered a challenge to debate.
Vance is will continue to mirror Harris’ and Walz’s schedule this week, hitting Michigan and Wisconsin on Wednesday and North Carolina on Thursday.
Shapiro’s star power – and why it probably cost him the VP pick
The crowd was electric as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro hit the stage to help introduce Harris and Walz.
Chants of “We’re not going back,” which have recently broken out during Harris’ campaign speech, echoed across the arena as Shapiro said the vice president’s new catchphrase. He interacted with the crowd throughout his speech, slamming Vance as “weird” — which also prompted chants of “He’s a weirdo.”
While Shapiro was among the finalists to be Harris’ running mate, he did not end up getting the job. But it was clear Tuesday that the energy he brought would compete with Harris’ recent star power.
It was clearly undeniable to the headliners of the rally: Harris and Walz.
Harris gave a shout out to the Pennsylvania governor at the top of her speech, saying “together with Josh Shapiro, we will win Pennsylvania.” The battleground state is going to be crucial for both Harris and Trump to win the presidency in November.
Walz, who cited Shapiro as a good friend (they did go see “The Boss” Bruce Spingsteen together in New Jersey), also gave the Pennsylvania governor his flowers.
“What a treasure you have in Josh Shapiro,” Walz said. “He can bring the fire. Everybody in America knows, when you need a bridge fixed, call that guy.”
Sometimes it's about the crowd size
It was a packed house at the Liacouras Center at Temple University. Roughly 14,000 were in attendance — making it the largest rally for the Harris campaign to date.
And it’s also something the campaign hopes to needle the Trump campaign with.
Trump has often bragged about his campaign rally’s crowd sizes, which often brings in thousands. Harris’ campaign is now highlighting their own milestones, hoping that it will show the newfound excitement surrounding the Harris campaign.
And to add salt to the wound, the Harris campaign took the message to Trump’s turf: Truth Social.
The Harris campaign posted a photo of Harris’ Tuesday rally and a screenshot from a video of Trump’s rally at the same arena a month ago, both from the same angle. The photo from Harris’ rally shows supporters filling out all the seats, including a top level of the arena. The Trump photo showed the second level of the arena empty.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Four takeaways from Kamala Harris first rally with VP pick Tim Walz
