(Chicago) Overnight, he became the darling of Democrats, who fell under the spell of this Midwestern governor who was a geography teacher, coach football player and army veteran before entering politics.
Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ running mate, had the chance and the challenge of introducing himself to the rest of the American public in the most important speech of his life on Wednesday, the third night of the Democratic convention in Chicago.
He chose brevity and ended his speech with a pep talkas he must have delivered many at the time he was coach.
“I grew up in Butte, Nebraska, a town of 400 people. I had 24 kids in my high school class, and none of them went to Yale,” he said, referring to the prestigious university where Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, studied law.
The Minnesota governor went on to retrace the main stages of his career as a teacher, a soldier – he served for 24 years in the National Guard – and a politician. He detailed his accomplishments as governor, particularly praising himself for having introduced free meals in public school cafeterias in his state.
“So while other states were banning books from their schools, we were banning hunger from ours,” he said. “We also protected reproductive freedom, because in Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and the personal choices they make, and while we wouldn’t make those same choices for ourselves, we have one golden rule: Mind your own business, and that includes IVF and fertility treatments,” he added, recalling the role fertility treatments played in the birth of his daughter Hope, one of his two children.
Like other speakers that evening, he attacked Donald Trump and JD Vance by referring to Project 2025, a radical roadmap that plans to “revolutionize” the United States and from which the Republican ticket is trying to dissociate itself.
Their Project 2025 will make things a lot harder for people who are just trying to live their lives. They spent a lot of time pretending they didn’t know. But listen, I coached high school football long enough to know. When someone takes the time to write a playbook, they use it.
Tim Walz
After praising Kamala Harris for bringing “joy” back to politics, he ended his speech by reprising his role as coach.
“I haven’t made many big speeches like this, but I have made a lot of pep talks ” said the governor, who was preceded on stage by a few of his former players. “So let me finish with this, team. We’re in the fourth quarter. We’re down by a field goal, but we’re on offense and we have the ball. We’re moving down the field and we have the right team. Kamala Harris is strong, Kamala Harris is experienced and Kamala Harris is ready,” he added, taking just 15 minutes to finish his remarks.
PHOTO ERIN HOOLEY, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Oprah Winfrey
If Tim Walz’s speech was expected, Oprah Winfrey’s, about 30 minutes earlier, was not at all. Seeing the host and businesswoman tread the stage of the United Center, the crowd gave her a wild reception, proving that her popularity was not a thing of the past.
The star revealed that she is registered as an independent. And it is to other independents that she addressed her words.
“Ever since I was able to vote, I have always voted for my values, and that is what we need in this election, now more than ever,” she said. “So I appeal to all independents and all undecided voters – you know this is true. You know I am telling you the truth: Values and character matter more than anything, in leadership, in life, and more than anything, you know this is true, that decency and respect are on the ballot, and that is just common sense.”
Bill Clinton preceded Tim Walz and Oprah Winfrey to the podium at the United Center. Following a memorable speech at the 2012 Democratic convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, Barack Obama dubbed him the “secretary in charge of explaining things.” The title was a reference to the 42-year-old’s undeniable talente president to make middle-class voters understand why the Democratic Party’s economic policies are superior to those of the Republican Party.
The former president, now 78, attempted to reclaim that role Wednesday night from Kamala Harris.
“Do you want to spend the next four years building the economy from the bottom up and the middle up, or do you want to spend the next four years talking about crowd sizes?” he asked.
Later, he added: “Since the end of the Cold War, America has created about 51 million jobs. What’s the score? I swear, I checked, I couldn’t believe it. Democrats: 50 million, Republicans: 1 million.”
Not all delegates were likely thrilled by the presence of Bill Clinton, whose personal behavior before, during and after his presidency has drawn criticism from both Democrats and Republicans. The former president has been accused by women of sexual harassment and assault.
The evening’s list of speakers also included several politicians with presidential ambitions, including Governors Josh Shapiro (Pennsylvania) and Wes Moore (Maryland), as well as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
That list also included Nancy Pelosi, an octogenarian politician who never dreamed of the White House but who played a crucial role in the events that led to Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race for the White House and his replacement at the top of the Democratic ticket by Kamala Harris.
PHOTO MELINA MARA, THE WASHINGTON POST
Nancy Pelosi
Earlier in the evening, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the American hostages held by Hamas, received a standing ovation from the crowd, which began chanting, “Bring them home.”
“In a competition of pain, there is no winner,” the father said, calling for the release of the remaining hostages and an end to the “suffering of innocent civilians in Gaza.”
The “non-committed” delegates, who are pushing for a ceasefire, deplored the presence of an American of Palestinian origin among the speakers.
For the second night in a row, Republicans who have turned their backs on Donald Trump spoke at the Democratic convention. Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan urged Republicans and independents to support Kamala Harris.
“You don’t have to endorse all of Kamala Harris’ policies. I don’t,” he said after describing his party as “a cult that worships a criminal thug.”
“But you have to recognize her mindset as a prosecutor, who understands right and wrong, good and bad. I want to make it clear to my Republican friends watching at home that if you vote for Kamala Harris in 2024, you are not a Democrat, you are a patriot.”