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Harris Picks MN Gov. Tim Walz To Be Running Mate; Harris-Walz Campaign Releases New Video Highlighting Walz Biography; Walz Brings Military Record To Democratic Ticket As Harris VP Pick. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired August 06, 2024 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[15:01:39]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: The pick is in, Vice President Kamala Harris choosing Minnesota governor, Tim Walz, as her new running mate. The Midwestern Democrat is set to join Harris soon in Philadelphia to kick off a battleground tour.

Plus, a relief rally. Wall Street mostly rebounds after its worst day in nearly two years on Monday. But will the rally ease fears of a possible recession?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: And bracing for an attack. Israel is on alert for retaliation after the assassinations of senior Hamas and Hezbollah leaders. It comes as Iran-backed Hezbollah has launched a barrage of drone and rocket strikes in northern Israel. We're following these major developing stories and so much more, all coming in right here at the CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

KEILAR: This hour, Vice President Kamala Harris will arrive in the battleground state of Pennsylvania where she will be joined by her new running mate, Minnesota governor, Tim Walz, for their first joint appearance at a campaign rally in Philadelphia. The selection of the 60-year-old veteran and teacher turned governor caps off a rapid rise for the dark horse candidate. Walz burst onto the national scene here in recent weeks with his sharp attacks on former President Donald Trump and the MAGA agenda.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is in Philadelphia ahead of this event where Harris will soon introduce her new running mate at their first joint campaign rally. Jeff, walk us through how this decision was made, how it unfolded and what we're expecting to hear today.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, Gov. Tim Walz has arrived in Philadelphia, and the Vice President will be arriving here in a short time. They will make their debut on this stage behind me here at Temple University.

This really is the culmination of a whirlwind, two-week campaign to get Gov. Walz on the ticket. As he was out campaigning for Vice President Harris, her team was watching very carefully. But I am told it is that Sunday meeting at the Naval Observatory in Washington, her residence, of course, where they really clicked. She found him authentic. She found him to be a good governing partner.

Now, a short time ago, her campaign released this video introducing the country to Gov. Walz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM WALZ (D) MINNESOTA: My dad was in the Army. And with his encouragement, I joined the Army National Guard when I was 17. I served for 24 years. I used my GI benefits to go to college and become a public school teacher. I coached football and taught social studies for 20 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So from being a social studies teacher, he was elected to Congress in 2006, served 12 years in Congress, and then was elected to governor, currently serving as his - in his second term. There's no doubt he has a progressive record right now as Minnesota governor. He started out with a very moderate record in the House. The Harris campaign hopes to tap into all of that as they try and extend their reach in Midwestern states.

Now, they will be campaigning right here in Philadelphia and then going on the road tomorrow in Western Wisconsin, onto Michigan, onto other battleground states. But Brianna, perhaps the most important thing that we're watching here this afternoon is not only the chemistry between those two candidates, but also Pennsylvania governor, Josh Shapiro.

[15:05:03]

He, of course, was the other finalist in this race. He, too, met with the Vice President on Sunday at her residence. Clearly, she made the choice of Gov. Walz, but Gov. Shapiro says he is all-in to campaign for the Democratic ticket. They will all be here in just a couple hours beginning their fight against Donald Trump. Brianna?

KEILAR: All right. Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much. Omar?

JIMENEZ: Well, checking on the other side of things, the Trump campaign is already going after Minnesota governor, Tim Walz, releasing an attack video just moments after Vice President Harris chose him as her running mate. Trump's vice presidential pick, Sen. JD Vance, has also come out swinging, speaking at a campaign event just a short time ago in Philadelphia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JD VANCE (R, VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE): Tim Walz's record is a joke. He's been one of the most far-left radicals in the entire United States government at any level, but I think that what Tim Walz's selection says is that Kamala Harris has bent the knee to the far left of her party, which is what she always does. (END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now, CNN's Kristen Holmes is in Philadelphia where Vance just wrapped up his campaign rally. So Kristen, what can you tell us about the Trump campaign strategy now that we actually know who the vice presidential pick is on the Democratic side?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Omar, I actually want to go back to something that Jeff just was talking about. The first being that they released a video on Tim Walz to introduce him to the American voters.

Remember, Tim Walz is not someone who is a household name. As they rush to put out who Tim Walz is, Republicans are also rushing to define Walz. And the other thing you heard Jeff talk about was that progressive record that Walz has had as governor. That is what Republicans are seizing on.

They are a hundred percent focused on that, saying that he moves the Democratic ticket to the left, that he is far more progressive than President Biden was.

And remember what the attack line has been on Vice President Kamala Harris, that she herself is a far-left radical liberal. This is something they are trying to hammer home. And now with the selection of Walz and his progressive record, they are doubling down on that.

Now, you mentioned that video. They put out a video almost immediately after Walz was selected. I am told it will be part of a future ad buy. Take a listen to the narrative there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kamala Harris just doubled down on her radical vision for America by tapping another left-wing extremist as her VP nominee. Tim Walz will be a rubber stamp for Kamala's dangerously liberal agenda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, one thing to note there, obviously they are really holding on tight to this narrative about being far-left. But the other interesting thing I have heard from a number of Trump advisors is that there is some relief that she didn't go with Gov. Shapiro, the governor here in Pennsylvania.

They were concerned that that might give Kamala Harris an edge here in this critical battleground. Obviously, now they are focusing all of their attention on Gov. Walz, despite the fact that Shapiro will be campaigning alongside Kamala Harris and Gov. Walz. But it is just an interesting note that there was some sigh of relief over the fact that it was Walz instead of Shapiro, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Well, we will see if that sigh of relief is warranted or not, but it begins today. Kristen Holmes, thank you so much. We're going to unpack all of this with CNN Political Commentator Maria Cardona, Democratic strategist, along with Erin Perrine, a Republican strategist who served as press communications director for the Trump campaign.

So, Maria, I want to start with you because obviously, look, now we know who the pick is on the Democratic side. Where does Tim Walz start with appealing to swing voters here?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think he starts by talking about not just what he has done in Minnesota. Let's remember that when he came to the House of Representatives, he took control of a Republican seat and kept control for over a dozen years. When he was in the state legislature or when he was governor of a state legislature that had Republicans in power, he was able to get things done for Minnesota by crossing over to the other side of the aisle and giving Minnesotans accomplishments. And so that's what he's going to talk about.

He's also going to talk about what the Kamala - what the Harris-Walz administration will do to expand the middle class, focus on protecting our rights and freedoms, focus on protecting our democracy. And that's what it's all going to come down to, Omar, because I think swing voters want what most Americans want. They want the ability to be able to give their families a way to live a better life. And right now, it's the Kamala Harris agenda that is going to be able to do that.

KEILAR: But when he really got stuff done was when Democrats controlled things in his state, right? That's what we saw. And those are the things he did that you have Republicans pointing to as, oh, this is the radical left agenda.

But I want to ask you, Erin, because if you just kind of look at the guy and you see how he sounds, he doesn't seem like a lib. Is that going to stick, do you think?

ERIN PERRINE, FORMER PRESS COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, TRUMP 2020 CAMPAIGN: This is going to have to be the commentary Republicans move is that this is a wolf in sheep's clothing. That might look like your uncle, but it's not your uncle. That's not somebody, you know why.

[15:09:59]

And then they can start to play the sound of what he has said about socialism being neighborly and about the progressive agenda that he has pursued. This is not going to be an easy fight for Republicans because he does come off as so affable. Everybody says he's such a likable guy. You want to get a meal with him. This isn't going to be a personality fight. It has to be the policy fight, because between Kamala and between him, they are going to win on the personality fight.

So make it the policies. Talk about when Democrats had control of the legislature in Minnesota and how progressive his policies were. Kamala has tried to moderate under Joe Biden and she's been appearing to be more moderate, running as a candidate now, trying to have staff backtrack on fracking and Medicare for all. She hasn't said that herself, but her staff's been saying it for her.

He ties more closely to those policies. So is this moving more towards the left? That's another opportunity for Republicans.

JIMENEZ: Yes, and - go for it, Maria.

CARDONA: Let's talk about those policies, because - yes, Republicans are trying to label him as a crazy liberal, but let's talk about the policies that he passed with a Democratic legislature. Paid leave. Ivanka Trump was trying to push paid leave under the Trump administration, right? Reproductive freedom. Ask Republicans if that's something that they want to run on front and center and as a top issue. Let's do it. Bring it on. Cutting ...

PERRINE: We can argue the same thing about crime. We can talk about the same thing about immigration.

CARDONA: ... cutting middle - cutting taxes for middle class voters, right? That is not an out there, far liberal agenda. That is an American agenda ...

PERRINE: But ...

CARDONA: ... that the vast majority of voters support.

PERRINE: But failing to protect your cities when there are violent riots going on and seeing them burned to the ground. That is talking about the (INAUDIBLE) ...

CARDONA: That - and yes - no, you're right. They will exaggerate on that and he's going to have to answer for that.

PERRINE: I mean, the photos show themselves.

CARDONA: But then ...

PERRINE: I mean, this is not a mostly peaceful incident there that was very ...

CARDONA: But then - but the vast majority are ...

PERRINE: ... very dangerous situation and he admitted, but he failed to step up and meet the moment.

CARDONA: But he dealt - and he dealt with it. And guess what?

PERRINE: Too little too for the billions of dollars in damages.

CARDONA: But, okay - but guess what?

PERRINE: And those cities that are still not rebuilt at this point.

CARDONA: The state of Minnesota ...

PERRINE: Send a camera into Minnesota and walk around the communities that are still charged. CARDONA: The state of Minnesota who went through that, reelected him and this is a state that Republicans say they're going to win? I don't think so.

PERRINE: It's an off cycle year.

JIMENEZ: Well, let me just jump in here real quick. Because I think, look, there are - it seems like there's ammo. There is ammo, I think it's fair to say. I was there in Minnesota covering those protests.

PERRIEN: Yes, I remember.

JIMENEZ: And one thing that I think now though, is when voters are looking at the picture that Walz is painting for them. Not just those in the base, but true swing voters who are trying to decide here. Does Walz' history, Erin - I'll ask you the question - does Walz - does his military background do - does the football coach background, does the Midwest background blunt maybe some of the policy criticisms that are allot this way now?

PERRINE: It can blunt the appearance of the policy criticisms, but it doesn't blunt the actual policies. Again, this cannot be a personality fight. That is where Republicans will not win. And either - neither side wins in a personality fight. This has to be on the policies. Just because he looks like your neighbor and your uncle doesn't mean he is. It means that he supports a radical agenda, one that will not benefit the middle class, one that will only drive the economy down, that will raise your taxes.

And here's the thing, it's hard to define them right now because you haven't heard real policy positions about what Kamala and Walz are going to do. And this is the time where that needs to start happening. Because they need to talk about what they're going to do for the American people instead of just placating at this point.

And the bigger point is, they haven't taken a tough question. Now they, Tim hasn't even really been announced yet, and so it's a little hard to blob criticism at him for that. But is he going to be doing interviews? Are they going to be taking questions? Will they be doing press conferences?

CARDONA: Yes.

PERRINE: Because you can't hide from your agenda the whole time and think the American people are going to elect you.

CARDONA: I don't think they want to hide from it. I think they want to actually put it in front and center, because like I said, who of those swing voters is not going to support paid leave? Who of those swing voters is not going to support reproductive freedom? And especially coming from someone who is a veteran, who owns a gun, who understands, truly, doesn't pretend to like JD Vance does, understand those small town rural voters that they need to appeal to.

KEILAR: Well, let me ask you about this, Erin, because you said the appearance of some things. Some of these things do not - it's not just the appearance, right? I mean, decades in the military and the guard. I mean, this is like the sort of - these are like the unsung heroes of the military.

CARDONA: Mm-hmm. Yes.

KEILAR: I mean, arguably.

CARDONA: Since he was 17.

KEILAR: And the football coach thing, he's a sportsman. I mean, isn't that maybe something that does get some folks in the middle who might not give - some folks who are disillusioned with Trump, might they just stop for a second and go, hmm? That they might not do for like a Josh Shapiro?

PERRINE: That's a good hypothetical, but who knows whether or not that's real, because even with Tim Walz being as affable and well- liked as you've heard members on both sides of the aisle say about him. People don't vote for the vice president. They vote for the top of the ticket.

And so at this point, you have to use his policy positions, lump them in with Kamala, bring back who she was in the '20 cycle.

[15:15:04]

Talk about how progressive and how left she was and say, this is the ticket.

Kamala has been smiling this whole time and has been extremely loved by the media, but this is what they actually want to do to the country. And this is the direction they want to take them in.

And when you talk about paid family leave, yes, the Trump team can blunt that. How? We tried to pursue it in the White House. These are things that we've worked on as well. If you want to talk about service, JD Vance served in the Marines and deployed to Iraq in service of this nation.

They there is a way to counter each of these punches and Republicans have the ability to do it. When it comes to the Second Amendment and firearm use, I mean, when it comes to - JD Vance was a Marine and Donald Trump has been endorsed by the NRA for years. This is - again, all of this can be the same, but to your point here, people vote top of the ticket. So he ...

KEILAR: Yes.

CARDONA: I think ...

PERRINE: ... some voters might say, ooh, maybe he's a little bit better, but I don't think that'll actually sway a voter.

CARDONA: I think what you're describing describe - I think is an example of how afraid they are because they have to caricature both Kamala Harris and now Tim Walz, and that's not going to fall with credibility.

JIMENEZ: Well, we're seeing the beginning of that process now. And look, maybe they - once they get this debate sorted out, we can watch for ourselves.

KEILAR: Yes, we can make a ...

CARDONA: Right, yes.

KEILAR: ... make a choice. Maria and Erin, thank you so much to both of you.

CARDONA: Thank you.

KEILAR: We appreciate it.

And still ahead, he did enlist at the age of 17. He served 24 years in the Army National Guard and that makes Minnesota governor, Tim Walz, the longest serving military veteran to be a vice presidential nominee. So how will that potentially translate to this run for the White House? We'll discuss next.

JIMENEZ: And tensions escalating on Israel's northern border. Israel hitting targets in Lebanon after a barrage of drones and rocket strikes by Hezbollah. And this also comes as Israel continues to brace for retaliatory attacks by Iran after last week's assassination of a Hamas leader in Tehran.

Those stories and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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[15:21:17]

KEILAR: All right. The Harris campaign has just released a video of her phone call this morning to Gov. Tim Walz, telling him that he is her running mate. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALZ: Hi, this is Tim.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's Kamala Harris. Good morning, Governor.

WALZ: Good morning, Madam Vice President.

HARRIS: Listen, I want you to do this with me. Let's do this together. Would you be my running mate and let's get this thing on the road?

WALZ: I would be honored, Madam Vice President. The joy that you're bringing back to the country, the enthusiasm that's out there, it would be a privilege to take this with you across the country.

HARRIS: Well, let me tell you, I have just the utmost respect for you. I have really enjoyed our work together. You understand our country. You have dedicated yourself to our country in so many different and beautiful ways, and we're going to do this. We're going to win, and we're going to unify our country and remind everyone that we are fighting for the future for everyone. So let's get out there and get this done, okay?

WALZ: Let's do it, do the work in front of us. Let's win this thing.

HARRIS: That's right. All right, buddy, I'll see you soon. Take care. Thank you.

WALZ: Thank you, Ma'am.

HARRIS: Okay.

WALZ: Yes.

HARRIS: Bye.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And off Walz was shortly after that to Philadelphia. We saw him deplane wearing that same black t-shirt. We suspect, though, he will change before this event in Philadelphia with Kamala Harris.

In the meantime, his military background is a key part of his resume, something that he is bringing to this ticket that could help win the support of veteran voters and people who value having a veteran on the ticket come November. According to the campaign's website, Walz enlisted in the Army National Guard at the young age of 17. He served for 24 years, and he retired in 2005 as a Command Sergeant Major. It is one of the military's highest enlisted ranks.

Walz later went on to serve in Congress where he was on the House Armed Services Committee and the Veterans Affairs Committee, later becoming the top Democrat on that committee.

While in Congress, Walz was an advocate for veterans. He introduced legislation to help reduce military and veteran suicides. The Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act passed both the House and the Senate unanimously and President Obama signed it into law in 2015.

Joining us now to talk more about this, we have CNN Military Analyst and retired Army Lieutenant General Mark Hertling.

Sir, thanks for being with us.

I think it's always very interesting to see, for you as a veteran, for any veteran, for me as a military spouse, a veteran on a ticket here, and he's 24 years. What do you think about this? Why is this a big deal?

MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, it's an element of character, Brianna. It is part of who the individual is. No matter how long they served or in what position they served, if you say someone has volunteered in a professional force like we have right now, it says that they're willing to provide some selfless service to something bigger than themselves.

So when you're talking about Gov. Walz, the fact that he served for 24 years and was an NCO during that entire period, going from private to his final position was as a Command Sergeant Major of an artillery battalion in the Minnesota National Guard, that just shows the kinds of things he's done. And by the way, because it was the National Guard, you're talking about a citizen soldier role.

[15:25:01]

What I mean by that is, you know, you know this being the spouse of an active duty soldier, that's a profession that takes your full devotion and your full time. For someone that joins the National Guard, they are back and forth between their military requirements and their duties and their civilian requirements and jobs. So it puts even an additional burden on individuals who decide to serve as part of the National Guard force of either the Army or the Air Force.

KEILAR: Yes. I'm so glad you mentioned that because for people in the Guard and in the Reserve, it really is so much trickier to navigate as they're weaving in and out of civilian life. In the House of Representatives, Walz was the highest ranking enlisted soldier ever to serve in Congress. Of course, we should note that JD Vance was a Marine veteran, is a Marine veteran, he served four years, including in Iraq as a enlisted combat correspondent.

Talk a little bit about the - being enlisted and why that is significant, how that will resonate with voters.

HERTLING: Yes. You know, I don't want to get into the politics of it, Brianna, but truthfully, when you're talking about an individual who served for 24 years from private to a position as a sergeant major in a battalion, you're talking about going through a whole lot of wickets. They advanced to their early stages of being a sergeant, then their competencies allow them to get promoted to the various ranks of sergeants.

I posted that this would be an interesting dynamic as part of his personality on Twitter this morning, and I had a whole lot of people coming back to me saying exactly what is a sergeant major, what is a master sergeant. So it was interesting to me how few people realize that that hierarchical structure, which is the military, that big pyramid of going from one of many to a few that are selected at the top levels, is a tough wicket to get through.

So then-Sergeant Major Walz, as a battalion - an artillery battalion commander in the Minnesota Guard, rose to the very top and he was appointed to a position which very few people hold. Now, in all truth, though, when he left the military, as I understand it, he was not in that position and he didn't complete the qualifications for a Command Sergeant Major, so he retired as a Master Sergeant.

But even in that, 24 years of service in the NCO Corps, the backbone of our military, the people in our military that make stuff happen, and when you're in that role as a Sergeant Major, I can share this, having served with 11 different Sergeants Majors in my role as a commander, they are tough, they know what they're doing, they speak truth to power, no one intimidates them from private up to general, they are the ones that are the enlisted representative of the force. And they also whisper in the commander's ear and say, hey boss, here's what you need to do and you might want to consider these kind of things. So it's a very tough role, and I give him credit for that.

KEILAR: Yes, their institutional knowledge is invaluable.

General Hertling, great to speak with you about this. Thank you so much.

HERTLING: Thanks, Brianna.

KEILAR: And coming up, yesterday's stock market plunge, making U.S. recession fears surge again, but after today's Wall Street rebound, are those worries receding? We'll discuss.

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