Tim Walz’s first speech as Kamala Harris’s VP pick: Read in full

Tim Walz joined Kamala Harris on stage in Philadelphia to deliver his first speech since being tapped as her running mate. Read the speech in full

Thank you, Philadelphia. Thank you, madam vice president, for the trust you have put in me. But maybe more so, thank you for bringing back the joy.

I am thrilled to be on this journey with you and Doug, this incredible journey. And Pennsylvania, I know you know this, but my god, what a treasure you have in Josh Shapiro.

Holy hell, can this guy bring the fire? He can bring the fire. This is a visionary leader. Also, I have to tell you, everybody in America knows, when you need a bridge fixed, call that guy. And I think sometimes we forget, and you see people a little one-dimensional, but seeing a guy who cares so deeply about his family, a man with compassion, vision, and – I know this from experience – there is no one you would rather go to a Springsteen concert in Jersey with than him.

And I can’t wait for all of you in America to get to know my incredible wife, Gwen, a 29-year public school educator. Don’t ever underestimate teachers. And our two beautiful kids, Hope and Gus.

I couldn’t be prouder to be on this ticket and to help Vice President Harris become what we all know is very, very good for us to think about, the next president of the United States of America.

From her first day as a prosecutor, as the district attorney, attorney general of the great state of California, a United States senator, and vice president of the United States, Vice President Harris has fought on the side of the American people. She took on the predators. She took on the fraudsters. She took down the transnational gangs. She stood up against powerful corporate interests. And she never hesitated to reach across the aisle if it meant improving people’s lives. And I want all of you to hold this and don’t ever underestimate the power of this – she does it all with a sense of joy.

I know a little something about that commitment to people. I was born in West Point, Nebraska. I lived in Butte, a small town of 400 where community was a way of life. Growing up, I spent te summers working on the family farm. My mum and dad taught us: show generosity towards your neighbours and work for the common good. My dad served in the army during the Korean War and with his encouragement, at 17, I joined the Army National Guard. For 24 years, I proudly wore the uniform of this nation. The National Guard gave me purpose. It gave me the strength of a shared commitment to something greater than ourselves. And just as it did for my dad and millions of others, the GI Bill gave me a shot at a college education.

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris holds rally with new vice president pick Tim Walz (Reuters)

My dad was a teacher. My brothers and sisters and I followed in their footsteps. Three out of four of us married teachers. It’s what we do. For nearly 20 years, I had the privilege of teaching high school social studies and coaching football, including winning that state championship. Don’t ever close the yearbook. Don’t ever.

But it was my students. They encouraged me to run for office. They saw in me what I was hoping to instill in them. A commitment to the common good. A belief that one person can make a difference. So in 2006 I took a leap and I ran for Congress. And because high school teachers are super optimistic, I was running in a district that had one Democrat since 1892. Well, my neighbours graced me with an opportunity to represent them in the United States House of Representatives.

I am proud of the work that we did there together. I worked across the aisle on veterans issues, on agriculture, and on ways to grow the rural economies. I learned the art of compromise without compromising my values. And now as governor of the great state of Minnesota, I bring those experiences to bear in tackling the challenges that are facing our great state. Minnesota’s strength comes from our values. Our commitment to working together. To see past our differences. to always being willing to lend a helping hand. Those are the same values I learned on the family farm, and tried to instill in my students. I took it to the Congress and to the State Capitol and now, Vice President Harris and I are running to take those very values to the White House.

Now, Donald Trump sees the world a little differently than us. First of all, he doesn’t know the first thing about service. He doesn’t have time for it because he is too busy serving himself. Again and again and again, Trump weakens our economy to strengthen his own hand. He mocks our laws. He sows chaos and division. And that’s to say nothing of his record as president. He froze in the face of the Covid crisis. He drove our economy to the ground. And make no mistake – violent crime was up under Donald Trump. That is not even counting the crimes he committed.

Kamala Harris takes to the stage in Philadelphia (AP)

Some of us in here are old enough to remember – I see you down there, I see those old white guys — some of us are old enough to remember when it was Republicans who were talking about freedom. It turns out now, what they meant was the government should be free to invade your doctor’s office. In Minnesota, we respect our neighbours and the personal choices that they make. Even if we wouldn’t make the same choice for ourselves, there is a golden rule: mind your own damn business.

These guys are after my heart chanting mind your own damn business – that feels good, thank you. Look, that includes IVF, and this gets personal for me and my family. When my wife and I decided to have children, we spent years going through infertility treatments, and I remember praying every night for a call for good news. The pit in my stomach when the phone rang, and the agony when we heard the treatments hadn’t worked. It wasn’t by chance that when we welcomed our daughter into the world, we named her Hope.

When the vice president and I talk about freedom, we mean the freedom to make your own health care decisions. And for our children to be free to go to school without worrying they will be shot dead in their classrooms. By the way, as you heard, I was the best shot in Congress. In Minnesota, we believe in the Second Amendment. But we also believe in common sense gun laws.

A Democratic supporter wears an ‘Old white men for Harris’ T-shirt (AP)

Vice President Harris’ idea of freedom is for education to be that ticket to the middle class. Not crippling debt. Air that is clean. Water that is pure. Communities that are safe. A place where we settle our political differences not through violence, but with our votes. And that is what this election is about. What direction will this country go in? We’re not going back. Well, Donald Trump would damn sure take us backwards, let’s be clear about that. And don’t believe him when he plays dumb. He knows exactly what Project 2025 will do to restrict our freedoms, to rig the economy to help the super-rich.

If Trump gets a chance to return, he’s going to pick up exactly where he left off four years ago. Only this time it will be much, much worse. Raising costs on middle-class family. He will repeal the Affordable Care Act – no doubt about it. He will gut Social Security and Medicare.

And when somebody tells you who they are, believe them. He said he would ban abortion throughout this country and he will do it, whether Congress is there or not. Donald Trump is not fighting for you or your family. He never sat at that kitchen table like the one I grew up at, wondering how we were going to pay the bills. He sat at his country club in Mar-a-Lago wondering how he can cut taxes for his rich friends.

And I’ve got to tell you, his running mate shares his dangerous and backwards agenda for this country. JD Vance literally wrote the foreword for the architect of the Project 2025 agenda. Like all regular people I grew up with in the heartland, JD studied at Yale, had his career funded by Silicon Valley billionaires, and then wrote a bestseller trashing that community. Come on. That is not what Middle America is. And I’ve got to tell you – I can’t wait to debate the guy. That is, if he is willing to get off the couch and show up. You see what I did there? I’ve got to tell you, pointing out just an observation of mine that I made, I just have to say it. You know it. You feel it. These guys are creepy, and, yes, just weird as hell. That’s what you see. That’s what you see.

So you know what’s out there. Say it with me: “We aren’t going back!” We aren’t going back. We are not going back. So we’ve got 91 days. My god, that’s easy. We’ll sleep when we’re dead. Over those next 91 days, and every day in the White House, I will have Vice President Harris’s back. Every single day. And we will have yours.

You know how this works. We can’t do it alone. We need you – each and every one of you. Go over to kamalaharris.com. Get on board, because we need you. Free to make our own choices. This leader. This compassionate, careful, joyous leader believes in each and every one of you. My god, you came here tonight to sit at the very top because you love this country and you are not going back.

She believes in the opportunity for every single person to join the middle class. She believes in the promise of America. We just got to fight. We’ve just got to fight. Because, as soon-to-be President Harris says, “when we fight, we win”. Thank you Philadelphia, thank you vice president. God Bless America.