Harris and Walz kick off battleground state tour on first full day as Democratic ticket

With crisscrossing rallies, campaign cash hauls and social media jabs, the 2024 presidential hopefuls made their cases to the American public today. For Vice President Kamala Harris, it was a chance to familiarize voters with her newly minted running mate. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Meantime, former President Trump and JD Vance sharpened their attacks against their opponents. Amna Nawaz reports.

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Amna Nawaz: With crisscrossing rallies, campaign cash hauls, and social media jabs, the 2024 presidential hopefuls made their cases to the American public today. For Vice President Harris, it was a chance to familiarize voters with her newly minted running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

Meantime, former President Donald Trump and Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance sharpened their attacks against their opponents.

In battleground Wisconsin, Vice President Harris and Minnesota Governor Walz hit the ground running on their first full day together on the Democratic ticket.

Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States (D) and U.S. Presidential Candidate: Can we hear it for Tim Walz?

Amna Nawaz: One goal, help Americans get to know Walz.

Kamala Harris: To the people of Southern Minnesota for 12 years, he was a congressman.

(Cheering)

(Applause)

Kamala Harris: To his former high school students, he was Mr. Walz.

(Cheering)

(Applause)

Kamala Harris: And to his former high school football players, he was Coach.

Amna Nawaz: The other, keep up the attack on their Republican opponents.

Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), Vice Presidential Candidate: Again and again and again, this guy weakens our country to strengthen his own hands. He mocks our laws. He sows chaos and division amongst the people. And that’s to say nothing of the job he did as president.

(Cheering)

(Applause)

Amna Nawaz: That followed Walz’s debut as Harris’ running mate last night in Philadelphia…

Kamala Harris: So, Pennsylvania, I’m here today because I found such a leader.

Amna Nawaz: … when in a raucous crowd of more than 14,000, according to the Harris campaign, showed the newfound excitement behind this ticket.

The Harris H.Q. TRUTH Social account posted this photo of the event juxtaposed with an image of a Trump rally held in the same arena in June. Enthusiasm also came in the form of cash. The campaign said today it raised a whopping $36 million in the first 24 hours after Walz joined the ticket.

The events in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are part of their whirlwind tour of several key battleground states over the next few days. Former President Trump, meanwhile, was on the offensive in a phone interview on FOX, portraying Harris and Walz as left-wing extremists.

Donald Trump, Former President of the United States (R) and Current U.S. Presidential Candidate: Nobody knew how radical left she was, but he’s a smarter version of her, if you want to know the truth. He’s probably about the same as Bernie Sanders. He’s probably more so than Bernie Sanders. She is more so than Bernie Sanders. This is a ticket that would want this country to go communist immediately, if not sooner.

Amna Nawaz: Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, began his own battleground blitz. At a police station in Michigan, he made the case for why a Harris/Walz administration would be bad for crime.

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Vice Presidential Candidate: We saw that, of course, in 2020 with the summer riots with our new vice presidential nominee on the Democratic side. As he was promoting rioters and looters burning down the city of Minneapolis, Kamala Harris was helping to bail the rioters and looters out of jail.

Amna Nawaz: He was referring to protests following the police killing of George Floyd, some of which turned violent. As Minnesota’s governor, Walz called in the National Guard after several days. Some say he was slow to respond.

By the afternoon, Vance was on to another campaign stop in Wisconsin, landing as team Harris was about to depart and walking right up to the vice president’s plane, Air Force Two.

Sen. J.D. Vance: I just wanted to check out my future plane.

Amna Nawaz: On the stump, Vance responded to the attack line coined by Walz that he and former President Trump are weird.

Sen. J.D. Vance: I think that the weird argument honestly came from a bunch of 24-year-old social media interns who were bullied in school, and they decided they’re going to project that onto the entire Trump campaign.

Amna Nawaz: As for team Harris, a stop in Michigan tonight, then on to Arizona and Nevada later this week.