Tim Walz leaned on values he learned during his rural upbringing in Nebraska, his time in Congress, and as governor of Minnesota to make the case that Kamala Harris should be president of the United States — and he should be the vice president.
In his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday, Walz said that as a congressman from 2006 to 2018, he "learned how to compromise on issues like growing the rural economy and taking care of veterans." He also said he "learned how to compromise without compromising my values."
Walz was a member of the House Ag Committee while representing the largely rural 1st District in southern Minnesota.
Recounting his boyhood in Butte, Nebraska, a town of 400, Walz said he learned that neighbors take care of one another, even if they may not share the same religion or other values.
And as governor, he touted his signing of legislation to provide free school breakfast and lunch for schoolchildren. While other states were banning books in their schools, he said, "we were banishing hunger," a line that got huge cheers.
Walz's speech was only about 15 minutes long, and was preceded by testimonials from former students and the appearance of members of Mankato West High School's 1999 state championship football team.
It’s easy to be “in the know” about agriculture news from coast to coast! Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse news. Simply click here.
Walz's speech was largely a repeat of the one he gave in Philadelphia when he was first announced as Harris's choice.
He criticized Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's plan for a new Republican administration, saying that as a former football coach, he knows that "when someone takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it."
Walz began by saying, "It's the honor of my life to accept your nomination for vice president of the United States."
He ended by likening the Democrats to a team that is down by a field goal in the fourth quarter but has the ball.
"We've got 76 days — there’ll be time to sleep when you’re dead," he said.
Trump has disavowed any connection to Project 2025, although he hasn't directly addressed many of its proposals. Responding to Walz in an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Trump said, “A group of people got together, they drew up some conservative values, very conservative values. And in some case perhaps they went over the line, perhaps they didn’t. I have no idea what Project 25 is,” Trump said.
Trump earlier said the ideas in Project 2025 came from the "radical right."
For more news, go to www.Agri-Pulse.com.
