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Tim Walz and Bill Clinton headline DNC day three, focus on 'fight for freedoms' | World News

Democratic National Convention, DNC, Bill Clinton, Tim Walz. Kamala Harris

Many Americans had never heard of Walz until Harris selected him for her ballot | Photo credit: X

4 minutes reading time Last updated: August 22, 2024 | 6:57 am IS

Vice presidential candidate Tim Walz and former President Bill Clinton are headlining the third day of the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, as the party hopes to build on the momentum Kamala Harris has brought since entering the race a month ago.

Walz, the Minnesota governor who has become known among his supporters as a folksy Midwestern teacher, football coach and father, will introduce himself to the rest of the country. He has also become a target of criticism from Republicans for the way he has portrayed his service in the National Guard and his personal history.

Organizers have billed Wednesday night as a “fight for our freedoms.” The program is expected to focus on abortion access and other rights that Democrats are trying to make central in their campaign against Republican candidate Donald Trump. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will speak, along with ordinary Americans who convention organizers describe as people who will argue that their freedoms depend on the outcome of the upcoming election.

“I think the vice president is a stronger ambassador for our voting base, and a big part of this election is motivating our voting base to get out to vote more,” said Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of the nonprofit Reproductive Freedom for All, who will speak Wednesday.

Walz is also joined by Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States and an experienced speaker at party conventions.

Also on Wednesday's schedule are two governors, Wes Moore of Maryland and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, as well as several Democratic senators: Cory Booker of New Jersey, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.

– Coach Walz' enters the stage –

Many Americans had never heard of Walz until Harris chose him for her candidacy. In the early weeks of his campaign, he charmed supporters with his background as a teacher and football coach, helping Harris balance her coastal background as a cultural representative of the Midwestern states whose voters she needs this fall.

But Walz has also come under scrutiny, in part for whitewashing his past. His wife clarified this week that she did not undergo IVF, as Walz has repeatedly claimed, but had used other fertility treatments. Republicans also criticized Walz for a 2018 remark about carrying weapons in war. Although he served in the National Guard for 24 years, he was never deployed to a war zone.

Still, polling data shows that despite initial difficulties, Walz had a smoother start as Harris' running mate than Republican JD Vance, Trump's nominee for vice president.

About a third of U.S. adults (36 percent) have a favorable opinion of Walz, while about a quarter (27 percent) have a favorable opinion of Vance, according to a new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Significantly more adults have a negative opinion of Vance than of Walz, 44 percent to 25 percent.

Walz will use his prime-time speech to talk at length about his childhood in Nebraska, his service in the National Guard, his work as a teacher and coach, and his time in Congress before being elected governor two years ago. Before his appearance on stage, John Legend will deliver a tribute to Prince, a Minnesota native whose work Walz regularly recognizes.

– A boisterous Tuesday comes to an end –

The week at the United Center in Chicago, where the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks usually play, was a balancing act for Harris and other Democrats, who are trying to capitalize on the exuberance that has swept their party since President Joe Biden's resignation while also making it clear to their supporters that the election will be an uphill battle.

But it would be difficult to match the energy of Tuesday night's convention session, which oscillated between lighthearted celebration and more serious warnings. A symbolic vote turned into a dance party with surprise appearances like Lil Jon performing Turn Down for What, his song with DJ Snake.

But former President Barack Obama also delivered a more sober message in his keynote speech after the roll call: “Make no mistake, it's going to be a fight.”

There is so much at stake in this election, Harris said Tuesday in Milwaukee, where she spoke at a professional basketball arena in the battleground state of Wisconsin while the party convention continued 90 miles away in Chicago. And understand, this is not 2016 or 2020. There is more at stake.

Harris is in Chicago but does not plan to go to the United Center to hear Walz's speech in person.

(Only the headline and image of this report may have been edited by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First published: August 22, 2024 | 6:57 am IS

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