RACE FOR WHITE HOUSE: KAMALA HARRIS PICKS TIM WALZ SAYS PAIR ‘STARTS AS UNDERDOGS’
After careful and meticulous scrutiny of candidates for the position of vice president, Kamala Harris has finally picked Tim Walz as her running mate for the presidential election
The Minnesota Governor and former high school teacher will become vice-president if Harris beats Donald Trump in November
Walz gained national attention for his strategy of calling Trump and JD Vance “weird”, a phrase Harris has adopted when talking about her rival.
The Harris campaign will be hoping Walz’s plainspoken and small-town Midwestern demeanour could appeal to independent and conservative voters.
JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, has called Walz a “far-left radical” and said he would debate his opponent when he is “officially the nominee”
Harris will introduce Walz as her running mate at a rally in Philadelphia later today, then they will tour key battleground states.
Meanwhile, president Biden was briefed by Harris about her choice of Walz, according to Advertisement
According to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, President Biden was at the White House this morning when Kamala Harris informed him about her choice of Tim Walz as a running mate. She acknowledges that Harris sought Biden’s advice on the matter.
Asked whether Biden had a favourite contender for the position, Jean-Pierre says only that the president has known Governor Walz for two decades and worked closely with him during his tenure as Minnesota’s governor. It should be noted that according to American law, the White House cannot, by comment too much on campaign matters.
In a related development, most Americans have never heard of the name Walz.
According to an NPR/PBS/Marist poll published on Tuesday before Harris made name selection public, Tim Walz’s name recognition is not particularly known by most Americans.
The poll suggests that 71% of American adults have never heard of Walz or are unsure of their opinion of him. Only 17% said they had a favourable view of the Minnesota governor, while another 12% said they had an unfavourable view of him.
The poll indicates that Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and Pennsylvania Gov Josh Shapiro – two other VP finalists – had higher name recognition than Walz.
However, all three men enjoyed greater net favourability than JD Vance, former President Donald Trump’s pick for vice-president.