X-rated Vance rumour referenced by VP pick
Kamala Harris’ VP pick gave a rousing speech after announced as the man for the job, and he referenced a very explicit rumour about his rival JD Vance.
Kamala Harris has chosen who will be her vice president should she be elected in November’s election.
She had reportedly narrowed the field of possible running mates down to six in her whistle stop vetting process after replacing President Joe Biden as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate.
But while the money was on the youthful and popular Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Ms Harris actually opted for Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
Ms Harris introduced her new running mate at a rally in Philadelphia this morning, talking up his credentials as a veteran, teacher and high school football coach.
“Coach Walz motivated his players to believe they could achieve anything. And together — hear this out — they defied the odds, going from a winless record to the school’s first-ever state championship,” Ms Harris said at the rally.
“As I think everyone here can see, Tim Walz was the kind of teacher and mentor that every child in America dreams of having and that every kid deserves.”
X-rated reference in Walz’s speech
Mr Walz, who is not as well known to the American public as other candidates for Ms Harris’s VP pick, told the crowd he “couldn’t be prouder to be on this ticket”.
He discussed his early years growing up on the family farm in the small town of Butte, Nebraska, and his 24 years of service in the National Guard.
He made digs at former president Donald Trump — “he wouldn’t know the first thing about service, because he’s too busy serving himself,” he said — and his Republican rival, JD Vance.
“I can’t wait to debate the guy,” Mr Walz said to a massive cheer from the crowd.
He then added: “That is, if he’s willing to get off the couch and show up.”
Harris could be seen laughing behind him and the audience burst into laughter.
“See what I did there?” he added.
The reason for the laughter is because of an X-rated false rumour swirling about Mr Vance.
It began in July when the user of a since-deleted X account published a post claiming Mr Vance had performed a sexual act with a couch and attributed it to his book, citing “(vance, hillbilly elegy, pp. 179-181)”.
The fake page citation from Mr Vance’s best-selling memoir Hillbilly Elegy turned out to be a completely false claim, as detailed in a fact check from the Associated Press.
Like all regular people in America's heartland, JD Vance studied at Yale, had his career funded by Silicon Valley billionaires, and wrote a bestseller trashing that community.
— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) August 6, 2024
Come on.
I can't wait to debate the guy—that is, if he's willing to get off the couch and show up. pic.twitter.com/4orv0v2xTZ
It didn’t take long for the internet to explode with memes mocking Vance’s relationship with various pieces of furniture.
Ms Harris and Mr Walz declared their commitment to strengthening America’s middle class and healthcare, particularly women’s health.
Mr Walz said he and his wife Gwen, who was also at the rally, called their daughter Hope when she was born after a long period of fertility treatments.
“When the vice president and I talk about freedom, we mean the freedom to make your own healthcare decisions,” he said.
Harris reveals her running mate
Earlier, on social media, Mr Walz said it was “the honour of a lifetime” to be picked.
“Vice President Harris is showing us the politics of what’s possible. So, let’s get this done, folks! Join us.”
Ms Harris declared: “One of the things that stood out to me about Tim is how his convictions on fighting for middle class families run deep. It’s personal.”
But polling has shown very few people have heard of Mr Walz. He has already been derided as “the most boring man in America” by his Republican rival, JD Vance.
Mr Walz, 61, is Midwestern through and through and will be seen as beneficial in swing states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and with rural voters. His profile could be helpful to balance Ms Harris, who is from California.
“He talks and looks like a lot of the voters we’ve lost to Trump,” a Democrat source told CNN.
His star shot up recently when he uttered a mere five words about the Republicans: “these guys are just weird”.
“Weird” became a key line of attack against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Mr Vance, and it was Mr Walz who made it go viral.
‘Most boring man in America,’ ‘extremist’
The Republicans have immediately hit back. Mr Vance said bluntly “Tim Walz is the most boring man in America”.
“He makes (Hillary Clinton’s running mate) Tim Kaine seem like Justin Timberlake,” he said.
He also blasted Ms Harris for not choosing Mr Shapiro, who is Jewish.
“I think that they will have not picked Shapiro, frankly, out of anti-Semitism in their own caucus and in their own party”.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Mr Walz made the Democrats the “most left-wing ticket in American history”.
“Walz sat by and let Minneapolis burn,” Mr DeSantis said, referring to the 2020 protests after the killing of George Floyd by police officers.
Trump campaign rep Karoline Leavitt leaned into an early attack on Mr Walz being perhaps more liberal than Ms Harris despite his Midwest roots.
“It’s no surprise that San Francisco Liberal Kamala Harris wants West Coast wannabe Tim Walz as her running-mate,” she said.
“Just like Kamala Harris, Tim Walz is a dangerously liberal extremist”.
However, former Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said she was “thrilled” with Mr Walz.
“From providing free meals for schoolkids to implementing paid family leave in Minnesota, he’s about doing good in all the ways you can. He’ll be an incredible partner to our first woman president. Let’s go win this.”
Mr Walz is a former teacher and football coach who spent 24 years in the Army National Guard. He then went to the US House of Representatives, serving a largely rural district in southern Minnesota, before running for governor in 2018.
Ms Harris became more set on Mr Walz during the final days of the vetting process — and was particularly impressed by his “happy go lucky” attitude and “chemistry”.
Mr Walz is now flying to Pennsylvania’s largest city of Philadelphia for a rally with Ms Harris later today.
The other contenders
The money had been on Josh Shapiro being the VP nominee.
Mr Shapiro is a popular governor of a state and his more centrist ideology was seen as a positive juxtaposition to Ms Harris, who some voters find too progressive.
Mr Shapiro has also managed to straddle the political divide so well that more than 40 per cent of Republicans in Pennsylvania think the 51-year-old is doing a good job.
But there were fears those successes could alienate some on the left of the Democratic Party. And as an observant Jew who has criticised some actions at Pro-Palestinian protests.
Pete Buttigieg, 42, had also been in the running and came to national attention when he made a run to be the 2016 Democrat candidate for president.
While he dropped out, the former naval officer was given the plum position of transportation secretary by the eventual winner Joe Biden.
Former astronaut
Mark Kelly, a senator for Arizona, had an impressive CV being both a US navy combat pilot and an actual astronaut.
Mr Kelly, 60, was strong on one of Ms Harris’ key weaknesses – the border. He had called the immigration situation a “crisis” and has pushed for tougher measures.
A cryptic tweet from Mr Kelly on Sunday suggested he knew he’d missed out as running mate.
“I spent my life in the navy and at NASA, where the mission always comes first. Now, my mission is serving Arizonans,” he wrote in the now-deleted post.
Other options for Ms Harris included Governor of Illinois JB Pritzker and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.
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