Kamala Harris introduces running mate Tim Walz at raucous rally

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz at inaugural joint rally in Philadelphia

Harris and Walz will tour battleground states together over the next week

(Image credit: Demetrius Freeman / The Washington Post via Getty Images)

What happened

Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz held their first joint rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday, hours after Harris offered the Minnesota governor the No. 2 spot on the Democratic presidential ticket. Harris told the cheering crowd that "Coach Walz" was the ideal governing partner to help her fight for a "brighter future," sporting a résumé — high school teacher and winning football coach, Army National Guard veteran, six-term congressman, two-term governor — that would make him "ready on day one."

Who said what

The main message of the raucous Harris-Walz kickoff was that the campaign to defeat Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), "is going to be fun," Jess Bidgood said at The New York Times. Walz, 60, began his introductory speech by thanking Harris for "bringing back the joy," then unleashed a series of smiling broadsides against "creepy" and "weird as hell" Trump and Vance.

When Republicans talk about "freedom," they mean "the government should be free to invade your doctor's office," Walz said. In Minnesota, "there's a golden rule: Mind your own damn business." During Trump's first term, "violent crime was up," and "that's not even counting the crimes he committed," he quipped, adding later that he "can't wait to debate" Vance, assuming "he's willing to get off the couch and show up." The Trump campaign called Walz "dangerously liberal" and a "West Coast wannabe."

What next?

Walz "now faces the urgent task of introducing himself to the country," The Washington Post said. "We've got 91 days," he said in Philadelphia. "My God, that's easy. We'll sleep when we're dead." Harris and Walz will tour battleground states together over the next week, ahead of the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 19-22.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.