Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz held their first rally on Tuesday at The Liacouras Center at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Harris announced Walz as her running mate Tuesday morning and later released the phone call where she asked Walz to round out the Democratic ticket.

Walz grew up in Nebraska on his family farm. He enlisted in the Army National Guard at age 17 and served for more than 24 years. He later became a high school teacher, where he concurrently served as a football coach and advisor of the Gay-Straight Alliance.

Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was also under consideration to be Harris’s running mate, spoke at the rally. Shapiro reiterated that he would continue to serve as governor while also working to ensure Harris and Walz are elected to national office in November.

Shapiro described Harris as “courtroom tough, having a big heart, and ready to go” and referred to Walz as “a great patriot.” He further discussed the significance of Harris and Walz launching their campaign in Philadelphia.

“I think it is fitting and special that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz have chosen to launch their campaign right here in Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love,” Shapiro said. “They chose to launch their campaign right here, in the birthplace of real freedom.”

Harris and Walz walked on stage as a ticket to “Freedom” by Beyoncé. Harris took to the podium with Walz by her side.

Harris commemorated the significance of the delegates of the Democratic National Convention for officially naming her as the party’s nominee. Harris went on to contrast herself with former President Donald Trump as a former prosecutor running against a convicted felon.

“Before I was Vice President … I took on perpetrators of all kinds,” Harris said. “Hear me when I say I know Donald Trump’s type.”

Shifting focus from Trump, Harris added that her and Walz’s campaign will be “a fight for the future.”

“We fight for a future where we defend our most fundamental freedoms,” Harris continued. “The freedom to vote … to be safe from gun violence … to love who you love openly and with pride … of a woman to make decisions about her own body, not having her government telling her what to do.”

Harris said she sought a partner who could help build this future when she announced her candidacy for president.

“I set out to find a leader who will unite a nation and will help move us forward, a fighter for the middle class, a patriot who believes as I do in the extraordinary promise of America,” Harris said. “I am here today because I have found that leader in Governor Tim Walz of the great state of Minnesota.”

Harris noted that Walz has held many titles throughout his career, from husband and father, to Coach Walz and Mr. Walz as a high school teacher, as Sergeant Major Walz in the Army National Guard, in addition to Congressman and Governor Walz.

“In 91 days, the nation will know Coach Walz by another name,” Harris continued, “Vice President of the United States.”

Harris highlighted that while Walz was a high school teacher in the 1990s, he served as the faculty advisor of the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance.

“At a time when acceptance was difficult to find for LGBTQ+ students, Tim knew the signal that it would send to have a football coach get involved,” Harris said. “That is the kind of vice president Tim will be, and the type of vice president America deserves.”

As governor of Minn., Walz signed into law the first bill guaranteeing a constitutional right to abortion after Roe v. Wade was governed in June 2022. Harris further noted that Walz is a gun owner who believes there should be “common sense gun safety laws.”

Harris emphasized that she and Walz are “running a campaign on behalf of all Americans, and when elected, we will govern on behalf of all Americans.”

Walz was introduced then by Harris, where he was met with widespread applause. He thanked Harris for the opportunity to serve as her running mate and said that she has “always fought on the side of the American people.”

Walz began by discussing his 24 years of service in the Army National Guard, and the purpose it gave him.

“It gave me the strength of a shared commitment to something greater than ourselves,” Walz said. “And just as it did for my dad, and millions of others, the GI Bill gave me a shot at a college education.”

Walz added that it was his high school students that motivated him to run for office.

“They saw in me what I tried to instill in them,” Walz continued, “a commitment to the common good, a belief that one person can make a difference.”

While serving in Congress, Walz said that he learned the art of compromise without compromising his personal values and convictions.

Walz then turned the attention to Trump and JD Vance, looking to further contrast the two presidential tickets from each other.

“Donald Trump sees the world a little bit differently than we do. He doesn’t know the first thing about service,” Walz said. “He doesn’t have any time for it because he was too busy serving himself.”

Walz added that violent crime was up under Trump and “that’s not even counting the crimes he committed.”

From the Midwest, Walz highlighted that there is a golden rule among its citizens: “Mind your own damn business,” when referring to his belief that all citizens deserve the freedom of choice.

Walz reflected on his and his wife Gwen’s experience with infertility and reliance on in-vitro fertilization (IVF) to conceive children.

“When my wife and I decided to have children, we spent years going through infertility treatments, the pit in my stomach when the phone rang and the agony when we heard that the treatments hadn’t worked,” Walz said. “So it wasn’t by chance that when we welcomed our daughter into the world, we named her Hope.”

Walz finished by echoing the point made by Harris that the Harris-Walz campaign and administration will focus on collaboration and bringing all stakeholders to the table.

“I’ll have Vice President Harris’s back every single day, and we’ll have yours,” he said.