Tim Walz accepts vice presidential nomination and challenges Republicans | World News

Walz told the U.S. his life story by focusing on his small-town Midwestern roots, his role in the Army and later as a teacher and football coach, an outline of his tenure in Congress, where he won in a conservative district, and his record as governor, in which he pushed policies ranging from free school meals to paid family leave to abortion rights.

But the Democrats were trying to do more: challenge Republicans in America's heartland and win over white, working-class voters who have emerged as Donald Trump's largest and most surprising supporter group over the past eight years. That's an electorate that the party hopes Walz will appeal to with his warmth and humor, his values ​​and track record, his hard-hitting one-liners and his defeat of the Donald Trump-JD Vance contingent.

He was introduced by a former student and his former football team, now middle-aged men. His wife Gwen and children Hope and Gus sat in the front row and he was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of over 20,000 people in the United Center arena holding signs reading “Coach Walz.” The vice presidential candidate began by paying tribute to Joe Biden's historic presidency and thanking his boss Kamala Harris for choosing him as her running mate.

View of freedom

Walz focused on the theme of the evening, freedom, and positioned Democrats as the party that will fight for it. He drew a contrast between the two parties, saying, “When Republicans use the word freedom, they mean that the government should have the freedom to invade your doctor's office. Corporations should have the freedom to pollute your air and water. And banks should have the freedom to take advantage of their customers. And when we Democrats talk about freedom, we mean the freedom to make a better life for yourself and the people you love. The freedom to make your own decisions about your health care.”

He expanded the argument to gun safety, saying freedom means children can go to school without fear of being shot. “I know guns. I'm a veteran. I'm a hunter. And I was a better shot than most Republicans in Congress, and I have the trophies to prove it. But I'm also a father. I believe in the Second Amendment, but I also believe our first responsibility is to protect our children.”

He attacked Trump over the draft of “Project 2025,” a plan drawn up by the conservative Heritage Foundation, from which Trump has distanced himself but which Democrats insisted remains the far-right plan for a future Trump administration, given its policy proposals and the background of the people who drafted it, all of whom were close to Trump and his ecosystem: “If these guys get back into the White House, they're going to start driving up costs for the middle class. They're going to repeal the Affordable Care Act. They're going to gut Social Security and Medicare. And they're going to ban abortion across the country, with or without Congress,” Walz warned.

The vice presidential candidate then used some of the one-liners that have already made him a star on the campaign trail. “It's an agenda that nobody asked for. It's an agenda that benefits nobody except the wealthiest and most extreme among us… Is that funny? Absolutely. Absolutely. But it's also wrong and dangerous.” And Walz repeated another of his lines about what defines American values: “Mind your own shit,” to suggest that Republicans were trying to restrict freedom.

“We are not going back”

Walz said teenagers who led student governments at his school could teach Trump about leadership. “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 willing to write these guys off. So, go ahead. Say it with me: We're not going back,” he said, to which the crowd responded with the phrase that characterizes the campaign: “We're not going back.”

Walz then spoke about how Democrats have something better to offer people, which is the candidacy of Kamala Harris. Walz urged delegates to make their intentions known to undecided voters: “If you come from a middle class family or are trying to move into the middle class, Kamala Harris will lower your taxes. If you are being squeezed by prescription drug prices, Kamala Harris will take on the pharmaceutical industry. If you want to buy a home, Kamala Harris will help you make it more affordable. And no matter who you are, Kamala Harris will stand up and fight for your freedom to live the life you want to live, because that's what we want for ourselves, and that's what we want for our neighbors.”

Walz concluded by offering a football analogy to motivate Democrats to do their best. “It's the fourth quarter. We're down a field goal. But we're on offense and we have the ball. We're charging down the field. And boy, do we have the right team. Kamala Harris is tough. Kamala Harris is experienced. And Kamala Harris is ready. Our job, our job, our job, our job… is to get in the trenches and block and tackle. Inch by inch. Yard by yard. Phone call by phone call. Knocking door by door by door… That's how we're going to put Donald Trump behind us.”

And so the Democrats will fight, said Walz, repeating another phrase that has become synonymous with the election campaign. “And when we fight, we win,” the party chanted in unison from the hall and the gallery. “When we fight, we win.”