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Kamala Harris and her US election running mate Tim Walz were on Wednesday stepping up the battle against Donald Trump for key Midwest states.
Vice-president Ms Harris introduced the Minnesota governor to the US at a campaign rally in the battleground state of Pennsylvania last night. She said: “He’s the kind of person who makes people feel like they belong and then inspires them to dream big.”
Mr Walz swiftly took a swipe at Trump and his running mate J D Vance. “Just an observation of mind, I just have to say it. These guys are creepy and, yes, just weird as hell,” he jibed.
Revving up the crowd of Democrats for what is expected to be a high-octane campaign against the Republicans, he added: “We’ve got 91 days. My God, that’s easy. We’ll sleep when we’re dead.”
Ms Harris and her vice-president pick Mr Walz were on Wednesday rallying Democrats across the Midwest, a politically divided region that is crucial to their effort to win the White House on November 5.
The trip, which begins in Wisconsin before shifting to Michigan, is aimed at shoring up support among the younger and diverse voters who were instrumental in helping Joe Biden win the 2020 election. The pair will later also head to Arizona and Nevada with nationwide polls showing Ms Harris pulling narrowly ahead of Trump.
Mr Biden, 81, who pulled out of the presidential race last month, described the Harris/Walz ticket as “a powerful voice for working people and America’s great middle class”.
Mr Vance was hitting a very similar trail to Ms Harris and Mr Walz across Midwest states as the Republicans stepped up their political attacks.
The Trump campaign swiftly tried to tag Mr Walz as a far-Left liberal. Trump’s campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “It’s no surprise that San Francisco liberal Kamala Harris wants West Coast wannabe Tim Walz as her running mate — Walz has spent his governorship trying to reshape Minnesota in the image of the Golden State.”
Trump, 78, who has become the first former or sitting president to be convicted of a crime, posted on his social media network: “THANK YOU!” after the news of Mr Walz’s selection. He followed up with another post proclaiming: “This is the most Radical Left duo in American history.”
In choosing Mr Walz, 60, Ms Harris is elevating a Midwestern governor, military veteran and union supporter who helped enact an ambitious Democratic agenda for his state, including sweeping protections for abortion rights and generous aid to families. Ms Harris, 59, hopes he will help her shore up her campaign’s standing across the upper Midwest, a critical region in presidential politics that often serves as a buffer for Democrats seeking the White House.
