As campaign nears finish, Walz adds dashes of digs to his portions of joy
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Tim Walz stood in front of a pair of barns, several grain bins and parked tractors as the Democratic vice presidential candidate made his pitch to Pennsylvania voters about how he and presidential nominee Kamala Harris would help rural communities.
The Minnesota governor rolled out the proposal to expand access to health care, boost broadband internet and prop up farmers. Walz reminisced about his upbringing in a small town then he took on a tougher tone as he swiped at GOP opponents.
“Been a lot of talk about outsiders coming in, coming into rural communities, stealing our jobs, making life worse for the people who are living there,” Walz told the crowd of dozens of farmers and local families. “Those outsiders have names. They’re Donald Trump and JD Vance.”
Just two months ago, Walz entered the race emphasizing positivity in politics. But in the final countdown to Election Day, Walz employed harsher critiques of Trump and Vance. He traveled to Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and North Carolina in a swing-state blitz this week — stopping at college campuses, pro football stadiums and small-town cafes.
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Along the way, his speeches have woven in pluckier lines and more swear words aimed at driving home key points.
“To Donald Trump, anybody who doesn’t agree with him is the enemy. I tell you that not to make you fearful or anything. I tell you that because we need to whip his butt and put this guy behind us,” he told a group of students at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Walz also questioned Trump’s mental faculties and pointed to the former president’s felony convictions in highlighting that Trump couldn’t pass a background check to buy a gun.
“He’s confused. He’s a nearly 80-year-old man. He’s ranting and rambling until people get bored and leave his rallies,” the governor said during a campaign rally Monday in Green Bay to laughs and applause from the crowd of supporters.
Campaign advisers say the shift in tone is a natural evolution in some ways meant to counter the rhetoric from the other side. Trump and Vance have also gone after Democratic candidates from a policy and personality perspective throughout the campaign. During a rally in Pittsburgh, Vance mocked Walz as having to defend a troubled Harris record.
“Tim Walz has to defend the indefensible, which is Kamala Harris’ failed record of leadership over the last three and a half years,” Vance said. “That’s a pretty hard job, my friends. … Tim, don’t worry, because in 19 short days, we’re going to end that job, because the American people are not buying your crap, and they’re not buying Kamala Harris’ crap.”
With the clock ticking down to Election Day, both sides are playing up the stakes. And they’ve focused their attention on states where polls show they’re essentially tied. Harris, Walz, Trump and Vance all rotated through Pennsylvania as people began returning their mail-in ballots this week.
University of Pittsburgh student Carson Cole, 20, said she’s voting for Harris and Walz because of stances on climate change and reproductive health care.
“I want to go into medicine so I really appreciate everything that they’re doing with children and families,” she said as she went to mail in her ballot on Wednesday.
Bill Hurst, 54, said Trump gets on his nerves, but Hurst plans to support him.
“I’m a conservative. I am a Catholic, I am pro life. I’m about smaller government, more control for the people, less for the people that are in charge,” Hurst said. “As far as who I’m going to go for, it's going to be Donald Trump.”
Hurst, like many other voters, said he’s ready for the election to be over. He’s been inundated with campaign ads and he’s sick of it.
“I just don’t need that negativity in my life,” he said. “And that’s what politics is right now.”
Therein lies the tricky balance for candidates like Walz as Nov. 5 nears. He’s intent on needling Trump and Vance while not entirely letting go of the optimism and joy that some voters seem to crave.
At that Pennsylvania farm, after Walz got all of his digs out of the way, he tried to end the stop on a brighter note.
“This thing is going to be razor close to the end,” he told the supportive crowd. “But I have to tell you, decency, goodness, joy and hopefulness wins every time. So let’s get out there.”