Tim Walz gave a rousing pep talk in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Friday, encouraging supporters to do everything they can over the next eleven days to elect Kamala Harris president.
Speaking to hundreds of voters at the Scranton Cultural Center, the Democratic vice presidential nominee compared the final days of the neck-and-neck presidential race between Harris and Donald Trump to the fourth quarter of a football game, leaning on his background as a former presidential candidate . high school teacher and coach.
“It’s going to be tight. It’s the fourth quarter. We have the best team on the field,” Walz said. “We have to do this step by step, yard by yard, door by door, call by call, dollar by dollar, vote by vote.”
The rally came as polls show the race between Harris and Trump deadlocked despite hundreds of millions of dollars being spent in battleground states. According to the Guardian’s poll tracker, Harris now leads Trump by less than 1 point in Pennsylvania, which could serve as the tipping point in the Electoral College.
Walz, the governor of Minnesota, warned supporters in Scranton against the “dangerous complacency” of downplaying the threat Trump represents to the country.
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“We run like everything is on the line, because everything is on the line. It is. We feel it. You know that,” Walz said. “[Trump] tells you what he’s going to do, and none of it is good.
Walz specifically echoed Harris’ message from her CNN town hall on Wednesday, saying Trump’s former advisers were sending a “911 call” to the nation. In an Atlantic article published this week, John Kelly, who served as Trump’s chief of staff, said the then-president expressed a wish for “the kind of generals Hitler had.” (The Trump campaign has denied Kelly’s claim.)
Walz told voters in Scranton: “Maybe Donald forgot that Hitler and his generals were on the other side of this issue, and that it was the sons of Minnesota and Pennsylvania who wore the stars and stripes who screwed him over and save this world from fascism.”
After cultivating a persona as a “joyful warrior,” Walz has become increasingly feisty in the latter part of the presidential race. In Wisconsin, Walz on Tuesday described Elon Musk, who recently appeared next to Trump at a campaign rally, as a “dipshit,” and the governor repeated the insult Friday.
“I used a Midwestern euphemism. I said he was prancing around and dancing like an idiot. That’s exactly what it was,” Walz said, prompting cheers from the crowd.
On a more positive note, Walz took a moment to express his appreciation for Joe Biden, who was born in Scranton and remains a popular figure in the city.
“This country owes a huge debt to you and a huge debt to Joe Biden,” Walz said. “[Presidents] have always put this country before themselves, no matter what it costs their personal ambitions or what has happened to them. Joe Biden has secured his place in history by upholding that tradition.”
The crowd in Scranton erupted in cheers of “Joe!” as Walz spoke. Michael McNulty, a 47-year-old voter from Scranton who lives down the street from Biden’s childhood home, expressed gratitude for the president but said he felt empowered by the Harris-Walz ticket.
“I think there is a real sense of optimism and hope here. It’s not just against Trump,” McNulty, wearing a Harris-Walz camouflage hat, said after the rally in Scranton. “They share a vision for the future of the country I want to live in. It is a vision that I want to raise my children in and that I am very proud to go out and contribute to making this possible.”
Biden won Pennsylvania by 1.2 points in 2020, four years after Trump won the state by 0.7 points. Although the polls show a tie, McNulty is confident Harris will win the Keystone State this time.
“We’re going to push this across the finish line here for the Harris-Walz ticket,” he said. “PA will deliver results, and we will have Madame President.”
