Minnesota Governor, Tim Walz formally accepted the vice presidential nomination on the third night of the Democratic National Convention, DNC, in Chicago on Wednesday, introducing himself to the nation with an emotional speech that showcased his Midwest roots.
Democrats are betting that within the American electorate is a deep desire to leave behind the bitterness of a decade dominated by former President Donald Trump. And so, at the party’s convention on Wednesday night in Chicago displayed a “joy” strategy, portraying Vice President Kamala Harris as the candidate who can move the nation forward.
“It’s the honor of my life to accept your nomination,” Gov. Tim Walz told the Democratic National Convention as the vice presidential nominee introduced himself to voters on the biggest stage of his career and outlined how Kamala Harris would lead the country if elected in November.
Tim Walz, the happy warrior, introduced himself saying, before his selection as Harris’ running mate, not only had he never delivered a high stake speech in front of a national audience, he had never even used a teleprompter. He also introduced himself as a coach, a teacher, a hunter, and a neighbor as he made the case that Democrats are the party of freedom.
“When we Democrats talk about freedom, we mean the freedom to make a better life for yourself and the people you love. Freedom to make your own health care decisions. And yeah, your kids’ freedom to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the hall,” Walz said.
Walz denounced Trump’s understanding of leadership and said, “good leaders don’t spend all day insulting people and blaming people. Leaders do the work. I don’t know about you all, but I’m ready to turn the page on these guys. So go ahead, say it with me: ‘We’re not going back!'”
READ ALSO : Harris picks Tim Walz, Minnesota governor as running mate
“It’s the fourth quarter. We’re down a field goal. But we’re on offense. We’re driving down the field. And boy, do we have the right team. We have got 76 days. That’s nothing. There’ll be time to sleep when you’re dead. We’re gonna leave it all on the field. That’s how we’ll keep moving forward. That’s how we’ll turn the page on Donald Trump,” Walz said.
Talk show legend, Oprah Winfrey who also spoke at the convention, said Harris is poised to make history and that soon, Americans will teach their children how the child of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father grew up to be a US president. “That is the best of America,” she said.
Former US President, Bill Clinton framed the election as a choice between Harris being “for the people” or Trump being “about me, myself and I.” Clinton used his speech to cast Trump as self obsessed and Harris as a clean break from the drama that encompasses the former president. “Trump mostly talks about himself,” Clinton said. “So the next time you hear him, don’t count the lies. Count the I’s, his vendettas, his vengeance, his complaints, his conspiracies,” he added.
Several of the party’s aging figures, including Clinton, acknowledged the twilight of their influence and urged voters to usher in new leaders. Clinton who at 78 is keenly aware that he has lived longer than his father, grandfather and great-grandfather, told the crowd on Wednesday night that he’s been to every Democratic National Convention since 1972 and has “no idea how many more of these I’ll be able to come to.”
Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the parents of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, shared their “anguish and misery” in one of the night’s most important moments. The two said they were deeply grateful to Biden and Harris, who they’ve met numerous times at the White House. They acknowledged the deaths of civilians in Gaza, saying “there is a surplus of agony on all sides of the war”.
Hours after their speech, leaders of the Uncommitted National Movement, which has criticized Biden’s mishandling of Israel’s war in Gaza, were told that their request for a speaking spot had been denied. Members reacted by staging a sit-in outside the United Center.
Defending democracy remains a key theme for the campaign, as highlighted by Aquilino Gonell, a former US Capitol Police sergeant, who said that “Trump summoned our attackers who rioted at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, as Congress was gathered to count electoral college votes”.
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