Harris, Walz campaign together for 1st time

PHILADELPHIA — Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her newly selected vice-presidential running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, campaigned for the first time together on Tuesday in Philadelphia, kicking off a multiday tour of battleground states aimed at introducing Walz to the national stage.

In his remarks to a raucous crowd of more than 10,000 at Temple University, Walz described his upbringing in a small Nebraska town, his 24 years serving in the Army National Guard and his prior career as a high school social studies teacher and football coach.

"It was my students who encouraged me to run for office," he said. "They saw in me what I was hoping to instill in them: a commitment of common good, a belief that one person can make a difference."

He also went after Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate Senator J.D. Vance, an early demonstration of how Walz will approach the traditional "attack dog" role of the vice-presidential candidate despite his affable, folksy style.

" (Trump) mocks our laws, he sows chaos and division, and that's to say nothing of his record as president," Walz said. "He froze in the face of the COVID crisis, he drove our economy into the ground, and make no mistake, violent crime was up under Donald Trump. That's not even counting the crimes he committed."

Harris' entry into the race after President Joe Biden abandoned his reelection bid just over two weeks ago has rapidly upended the election campaign, with polls showing she has erased the lead Trump had built.

Harris, the US vice-president, announced her choice of Walz earlier in the day, opting for a running mate with executive experience, military service and a track record of winning over the rural, white voters who have gravitated to Trump over the years.

The Harris campaign said it had raised more than $20 million after the announcement of Walz as the vice-presidential pick.

'Radical left'

Trump and Vance were quick to criticize the new competition as too liberal.

"This is the most Radical Left duo in American history," Trump wrote on his social media platform.

Vance knocked Walz for his handling of protests after George Floyd, a black man, was killed in Minneapolis by a white police officer in 2020, with the Republican saying Walz was not assertive enough in combating the rioters.

Born in Nebraska, Walz enlisted in the Army National Guard when he was just 17, serving 24 years in domestic and overseas deployments.

In 1989, he spent about a year teaching high school in China's Guangdong province. He had described that time as "an excellent experience" that left him believing, "I'll never be treated that well again.

"They are such kind, generous, capable people. They just gave and gave and gave to me. Going there was one of the best things I have ever done," he told the Star-Herald of Nebraska in 1990.

On Wednesday, in response to a question on Walz's connections to China, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the presidential election is the internal affair of the United States and China will not comment on it.

Mao expressed hope that the US will meet China halfway and act with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation to promote stable, sound and sustainable development of bilateral ties, so as to benefit the two countries and beyond.

Ai Heping in New York and Zhao Jia in Beijing contributed to this story.

Agencies via Xinhua