Minnesota Governor Tim Walz formally accepted the party’s vice presidential nomination for the US presidential election on November 5 at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday.
“Thank you, first of all, to Vice President (Kamala) Harris. Thank you for placing your trust in me and inviting me to be part of this incredible campaign. And thank you to President Joe Biden for four years of strong and historic leadership. It is the honor of a lifetime to accept your nomination for Vice President of the United States,” he said.
During his speech, in front of a crowd of red signs reading ‘Coach Walz’, he gave an introduction to his life and drew on his career as a high school coach to argue that the Democrats have “the right team” to win in the upcoming election.
After introducing herself, she criticized Republicans for using the word freedom to “invade” the doctor’s office, in reference to reproductive rights, so that companies can pollute the air and water, and banks can take advantage of customers. “But when Democrats talk about freedom, we mean achieving a better life for yourself and those you love, to make your own decisions about health care and to go to school without fear of being shot.
“That’s what this is all about. The responsibility we have to our children, to each other, and to the future we are building together, where everyone is free to build the kind of life they want. And we know that if these guys get back into the White House they will start raising costs for the middle class, repeal the health care law, gut Social Security and ban abortion across the country,” he said.
Walz said that “it’s an agenda that no one asked for and it’s the most extreme.” “It’s dangerous,” he added, maintaining that it’s not him who says it but “Trump’s own people” who worked with him during his time in the White House. “They are warning us that the next four years will be much worse,” he said, after several Republicans went to the Democratic convention to demonstrate their rejection of the tycoon.
“Leaders don’t spend all day insulting people and blaming others. Leaders do the work. So I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to turn the page with these guys. We’re not going to back down! We have something better to offer the American people,” he added.
After using his time to criticize Trump, he showed his support for Harris who, “from day one as prosecutor” until now as vice president “has fought on the side of the American people”: “She has stood up to predators and scammers. She has brought down transnational gangs and faced powerful corporate interests. She has never hesitated to build bridges if it meant improving our lives,” he said.
“We have the opportunity to make Kamala Harris the next president of the United States (…) This is how we will turn the page on Donald Trump. (…) This is how we are going to fight. And as the next president of the United States says: when we fight, we win,” concluded the governor of Minnesota.
