Tim Walz’s rallying cry for the Harris campaign at Acrisure Stadium felt more like a high school pep talk than a serious political event.
As a former coach, Walz tried to fire up the crowd, comparing the upcoming election to a Super Bowl, telling the audience that winning the big game happens months before kickoff. Sure, it’s a cute metaphor, but let’s be real—this isn’t a football game, and no amount of rah-rah coaching is going to fix the Biden-Harris administration’s dismal track record.
Walz may have been trying to inspire, but when 79% of Americans think the country is on the wrong track, no pep talk is going to convince them otherwise. The polls show Pennsylvania deadlocked, and Walz seems to think a higher Child Tax Credit or a vague promise to lower housing costs is going to fix what’s really wrong.
Meanwhile, he conveniently ignores the fact that his running mate, Kamala Harris, hasn’t exactly been a star player in the Biden administration. In fact, her inability to define how she’s any different from Biden makes her slogan, “A New Way Forward,” sound like an empty promise. What are they turning the page from? Their own failures?
Walz even took a cheap shot at Donald Trump, seizing on an event where Trump ended a town hall early due to medical emergencies in the crowd. Walz used the incident to poke fun at Trump’s age, in the same way Republicans have criticized Biden’s mental fitness. It’s a bold move, especially considering the countless viral clips of Harris’s awkward interviews and word-salad responses to basic questions. Let’s not forget her repeated inability to name anything she’d do differently from Biden while claiming she’d bring “fresh ideas” as president. If she has those ideas, she’s keeping them well hidden.
Walz: “JD Vance is a venture capitalist cosplaying as a cowboy. I don’t even know what a venture capitalist does.”pic.twitter.com/5tN89dkFrW
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 15, 2024
And then there’s the growing problem with Harris’s support among Black voters, particularly Black men. While Walz was busy grandstanding in Pittsburgh, even independent voters who once leaned Democratic are starting to shift toward Trump, frustrated by the Democrats’ constant pandering on LGBTQ+ issues and Harris’s tough-on-crime past as a prosecutor. The Harris campaign is hemorrhaging support where it should be solid, and rallies like this aren’t exactly helping.
Walz may have thrown on his best “Minnesota Grown” hat and red hunting jacket for a photo-op at a rural Pennsylvania farm, but it’s going to take more than nostalgia for his Nebraska farming roots to win over rural voters. These are people who have been let down time and time again by Democrats’ broken promises.
As RNC spokeswoman Anna Kelly pointed out, Harris’s vote against the USMCA trade deal didn’t exactly endear her to farmers. Rural voters are done being ignored, and they’re not going to fall for Harris’s last-minute attempts to rewrite her record.
Walz can try to rally the base all he wants, but his team has fumbled too many times. This isn’t a game, and come Election Day, voters aren’t going to be swayed by feel-good speeches and empty slogans. They’ll be looking for real results—something the Harris campaign has yet to deliver.