A new candidate is like a new life
At their first joint campaign appearance, presidential candidate Harris and her newly chosen running mate, Walz, show aggression. The hall is overflowing. On the surrounding streets, live streams are helping.
After two hours of waiting, a young woman clenches her fist just before the security checkpoint, closes her eyes, and smiles slightly. She, and thousands of others, want to get into the already packed basketball hall of Temple University in Philadelphia. On a phone, Tim Walz's voice can be heard. The vice-presidential candidate of Kamala Harris, announced just hours earlier, is talking about abortions, that people should make their own decisions about their own bodies.
"Some of us remember when Republicans talked about freedom," says Walz: "It turns out they meant that the government should be able to intrude in doctor's offices!" The more than 10,000 people react with boos. "In Minnesota, we respect our neighbors' decisions, even if we wouldn't make them for ourselves," says the governor of the state. "There's a golden rule: mind your own damn business!" The audience cheers enthusiastically.
The concept of freedom, which Harris had already hinted at in her first campaign appearance, the Democrats will not leave to the conservatives, but will fight for it. Walz seamlessly joins in at his first appearance with the presidential candidate. Both are on the attack. Harris with her typical phrase, which she says as a former prosecutor: "I know Donald Trump's type!" which causes enthusiastic cheering. Walz is authentic and tough, accusing the Republican presidential candidate Trump of being out of touch. "He's not fighting for you or your family." Instead, he's thinking in Mar-a-Lago about how to lower taxes for his rich friends.
With all their might
On this Tuesday, the US Democrats are launching a presidential campaign in Philadelphia with all their might, which already seemed almost lost before it even began. Before President Joe Biden self-destructed and eventually stepped down in favor of Harris.
Hours before the start of the campaign event in the crucial state of Pennsylvania, people are already pushing into the hall, and even as the event begins late in the afternoon, they are still standing in line for kilometers. The hall is long since packed, but more and more people hope to catch a glimpse. At least when Pennsylvania's Governor Josh Shapiro steps onto the stage, people outside are pulling out their phones to watch via live stream. Both inside and outside, it's clear: the audience is significantly younger, more female, and more diverse than at Trump's events.
After Shapiro, Harris and Walz step onto the stage. They radiate joy, especially the vice-presidential candidate can barely contain himself, putting his hand on his heart repeatedly. Walz, who was once a soldier, teacher, and American football coach. Who once served as a representative for a district in the House of Representatives that voted for Trump. Who, as governor since 2018, has been pushing a progressive social policy. It becomes clear what the past two weeks have accomplished: the new candidate is like a new life for the Democrats. It's the cheer of relief, that a looming defeat and another four years of Trump can still be averted, that sweeps through the hall and the people on the streets. But there's also a look to the future, that something new and better than Biden could be coming.
"He's simply Minnesota's Dad," Alec McGlasson says about Walz, who isn't deterred by the long-standing talk in the hall. The 25-year-old IT specialist is among many who spontaneously came when he heard that Walz and Harris were in town. He's not the only one enthusiastic about the election. Alec McGlasson likes how the governor has strengthened renewable energy in Minnesota, made school lunch free, and introduced paid family leave in the state. He doesn't consider Walz too progressive at all. "I would have only reluctantly voted for Biden," he says. "He wouldn't have stood much of a chance against Trump anyway." Harris, on the other hand, has a whole different energy.
"Prosecutor against Convicted"
People have been winding through the city for more than two hours, several kilometers long. Past Harris merchandise, but also Trump, whose face is on an orange, five-dollar pin behind bars - with a mocking "Make America Great Again". A thin towel with "The Prosecutor against the Convicted" is available for 10 dollars. Finally, it's time to go in, but to the "overflow area", a smaller sports hall on campus that's also filled. People pass the time dancing, a DJ plays music, behind her is "Fight! Fight! Fight!" painted on the wall - as if the school was making fun of Trump. Not so, says an employee, just an encouraging cheer for the sports teams.
In the main hall, Harris and Walz have already said their goodbyes, but Shapiro also comes onto the stage in the overflow area to fulfill his new role: The governor had to let Walz take the lead as vice presidential candidate but must ensure that Pennsylvania votes Democrat again in November. To that end, he rallies the attendees for a few minutes. "Your responsibility is to win Pennsylvania!", he says to loud cheers. Afterwards, he takes countless photos with the wave-makers, takes selfies, and speaks to the attendees. Campaigning up close.
The political wind can change quickly in the campaign. After two weeks, Harris is now narrowly ahead of Trump in the national poll average, the graph going steeply upwards. Walz and Harris go on a week-long tour through the so-called battleground states after this appearance in Philadelphia: the supposedly decisive states for a possible election victory against Donald Trump in November. They come with a range of messages they will repeat: Trump and his vice J.D. Vance are "odd". Or: We're not going back to Trump's world. And: Mind your own business, we'll take care of the future of the country.
The escort for the distinguished guests lines up in front of the hall, police on motorcycles, cars with flashing lights, boxy, black SUVs with tinted windows. The convoy sets off, racing down Broad Street towards Philadelphia City Hall. "That was it, that was it!", a handful of young women shout at a street corner. They jump for joy.
As the convoy carrying Harris and Walz departs, a group of excited supporters erupts in cheers, believing their advocacy for individual rights and progressive policies could shift the outcome of the US presidential election in 2024. In the weeks following their energetic campaign launch, the Democrats continue their battle, focusing on influential "battleground" states, determined to usher in a new era.
On the eve of the presidential election in 2024, Tim Walz, now a candidate for the highest office in the land, is seen speaking to anxious voters in a crowded town square, reiterating the same message of respect, minding their own business, and fighting for the future of the country.
