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Tag: Timothy Walz

  • FACT FOCUS: False claims follow Minnesota governor’s selection as Harris’ running mate

    FACT FOCUS: False claims follow Minnesota governor’s selection as Harris’ running mate

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    Vice President Kamala Harris’ announcement on Tuesday that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will be her running mate in the 2024 presidential election increased the spread of false claims about the Midwestern Democrat, some of which appeared on social media even before Harris made her pick public.

    Here’s a look at the facts.

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    CLAIM: Walz said on CNN that he wants to invest in a “ladder factory” to help people scale the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and illegally enter the U.S.

    THE FACTS: That’s false. Posts are misrepresenting a comment Walz made on an episode of CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” last week. In the full segment, the Democrat criticizes former President Donald Trump’s plan to build a wall on the southern border by joking about the hypothetical investment. He then gives multiple other examples of how to address illegal crossings into the U.S. through Mexico.

    Amid Harris’ Tuesday announcement, social media users used a clip from the segment to make it seem as though the Minnesota governor was advocating for illegal immigration.

    “He talks about this wall, I always say, ‘let me know how high it is, if it’s 25 feet then I’ll invest in a 30-foot-ladder factory,’” Walz says, referencing Trump. “That’s not how you stop this.”

    One X post that shared the clip reads: “FLASHBACK: Kamala’s VP pick, Tim Walz, says he should invest in a ‘ladder factory’ to help illegal aliens climb the border wall.”

    But Walz was not offering to help people enter the U.S. without authorization. He was actually discussing how to prevent this from happening.

    In the full segment, after making the investment quip, Walz gives alternative ideas for how to handle illegal crossings on the southern border. Arrests for such crossings reached a record high in December, but dropped to a new low for the Biden administration at the end of July following a temporary ban on asylum.

    “You stop this using electronics, you stop it using more border control agents and you stop it by having a legal system that allows for that tradition of allowing folks to come here just like my relatives did,” Walz says near the end of the segment. “To come here, be able to work and establish the American dream.”

    He also spoke in support of a bipartisan border security package intended to cut back on illegal crossings that the Senate voted down in February.

    — Associated Press writer Melissa Goldin contributed this report.

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    CLAIM: Walz changed the Minnesota flag so that it resembles the Somali flag.

    THE FACTS: Minnesota did unfurl a new state flag and accompanying seal in May, but the changes were made to replace an old design that Native Americans said reminded them of painful memories of conquest and displacement. The State Emblems Redesign Commission was established during the 2023 legislative session to oversee the development of a new design.

    Changes were made to eliminate an old state seal that featured the image of a Native American riding off into the sunset while a white settler plowed his field with a rifle at the ready. The seal was a key feature of the old flag.

    The commission included public officials, design experts and members of tribal and other communities of color. Its purpose statement dictated that the designs “must accurately and respectfully reflect Minnesota’s shared history, resources, and diverse cultural communities. Symbols, emblems, or likenesses that represent only a single community or person, regardless of whether real or stylized, may not be included in a design.”

    What to know about the 2024 Election

    The public submitted more than 2,600 proposals and the commission picked one from Andrew Prekker, 25, of Luverne, as the basis for the flag.

    Prekker said Walz had nothing to do with the creation of the flag, and Somalia had nothing to do with the flag design. Minnesota is home to the largest Somali population in the U.S. and is home to U.S. Rep. Ilhan Oman, who was born in Somalia and is a member of an informal group of progressive Democratic House members known as The Squad.

    “The inspiration behind my flag were three main concepts inspired by Minnesota’s history and culture: The North Star, the Minnesota shape, and three stripes representing different facets of Minnesotan identity,” he wrote in an email.

    Prekker’s original design had the white star on the blue background with white, green and light blue stripes stretching over the rest of the flag. The flag was compared online with flags from states in Somalia that have green, white and blue stripes and a star. The stripes were dropped by the commission in the final design.

    The final version of the flag features a dark blue shape resembling Minnesota with a white, eight-pointed star on it. The right side is light blue and is meant to symbolize the state’s abundant waters that led to it being known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

    The Somali flag has a five-point star on a light blue background. “There is no connection to Somalia or any other country, and in complete honesty I didn’t even know Somalia existed before the whole flag debacle. Any similarities people want to see are a coincidence. It is a Minnesotan flag, and that is what I designed it for,” Prekker said.

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    Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.

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  • Donald Trump headlines Montana rally after plane was diverted but landed safely

    Donald Trump headlines Montana rally after plane was diverted but landed safely

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    BOZEMAN, Mont. – Donald Trump traveled to Montana for a Friday night rally intended to drum up support for ousting the state’s Democratic senator, but the former president’s plane first had to divert to an airport on the other side of the Rocky Mountains because of a mechanical issue, according to airport staff.

    Trump’s plane was en route to Bozeman, Montana, when it was diverted Friday afternoon to Billings, 142 miles to the east, according to Jenny Mockel, administrative assistant at Billings Logan International Airport. Trump continued to Bozeman via private jet.

    The former president came to Montana hoping to remedy some unfinished business from 2018, when he campaigned repeatedly in Big Sky Country in a failed bid to oust incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Tester. On Friday, Trump ripped into the three-term senator, mocking him for being overweight and for insinuating he sometimes sided with the former president.

    “He voted to impeach me — that guy voted to impeach me,” Trump said of Tester, whom he called a “slob” with “the biggest stomach I’ve ever seen.”

    Trump also invited to the stage Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson, his former White House physician, to further slam Montana’s senior senator. Tester sank Jackson’s nomination to be Trump’s Veterans Affairs secretary, alleging the doctor drank and used prescription drugs while on duty.

    Tester has tried to convince voters he’s aligned with Trump on many issues, mirroring his successful strategy from six years ago. While that worked in a non-presidential election year, it faces a more critical test this fall with Tester’s opponent, former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, trying to link the three-term incumbent to Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

    Trump kicked off his rally about 90 minutes behind schedule and immediately began lacing into Tester. “We are going to defeat radical left Democrat Jon Tester, he’s terrible,” Trump said. “We’re going to evict crazy Kamala,” he continued, workshopping a nickname on his new rival.

    Harris has benefitted nationally from a burst of enthusiasm among core Democratic constituencies, who coalesced quickly around her after President Joe Biden withdrew from the campaign last month. She’s drawn big crowds in swing states, touring this week with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, her choice to be her vice presidential nominee.

    Trump’s only rally this week, meanwhile, was in a state he won by 16 percentage points four years ago rather than a November battleground. Facing new pressure in the race from a candidate with surging enthusiasm, Trump on Thursday called questions about his lack of swing state stops “stupid.”

    “I don’t have to go there because I’m leading those states,” he said. “I’m going because I want to help senators and congressmen get elected.”

    He will add on fundraising stops in Wyoming and Colorado.

    Trump could be decisive in Montana’s Senate race

    Friday’s rally at Montana State University drew thousands of GOP supporters. Yet the former president’s bigger impact could be simply having his name above Sheehy’s on the ballot in November, said University of Montana political analyst Rob Saldin.

    “There is a segment of the electorate that will turn out when Trump is on the ticket,” Saldin said. And that could benefit Sheehy, a Trump supporter and newcomer to politics who made a fortune off an aerial firefighting business.

    Republicans have been on a roll in Montana for more than a decade and now hold every statewide office except for Tester’s.

    Tester won each of his previous Senate contests by a narrow margin, casting himself as a plainspoken farmer who builds personal connections with people in Montana and is willing to break with his party on issues that matter to them. He’s also become a prolific fundraiser.

    The race has drawn national attention with Democrats clinging to a razor-thin majority in the Senate and defending far more seats than the GOP this year. Tester is considered among the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents.

    For him to win, large numbers of Trump supporters would have to vote a split ticket and get behind the Democratic senator.

    Trump’s drive to oust Tester traces back to the lawmaker’s work in 2018 as chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Tester revealed past misconduct by Trump’s personal physician, Ronny Jackson, that sank Jackson’s nomination to lead the Veterans Affairs Department.

    Then-President Trump took the matter personally and came to Montana four times to campaign for Republican Matt Rosendale, who was then the state auditor. Rosendale lost by 3 percentage points.

    Tester has positioned himself apart from national Democrats

    Before Trump’s latest visit, Tester has sought to insulate himself against charges that he’s part of the Democratic establishment by rolling out the names of Republicans who support him, including former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot. His campaign highlighted more than 20 pieces of legislation, many dealing with veterans’ issues, that Tester sponsored and Trump signed.

    Tester also was the sole Democratic delegate from Montana to withhold a vote backing Harris as the party’s presidential candidate in the wake of Biden’s withdrawal. And when the Democratic National Convention takes place later this month in Chicago, Tester will be back in Montana “farming and meeting face to face with Montanans,” campaign spokesperson Harry Child said.

    The last time Tester attended the Democratic National Convention was in 2008. That’s also the last time a Democratic presidential candidate came anywhere near winning Montana, with President Barack Obama losing by just over 2 percentage points.

    On Friday, in an interview as he waited for the Trump rally to start, Sheehy dismissed the idea that Tester can survive Montana’s swing to the right. “Jon Tester is by 95%-plus in lockstep with the Biden-Harris agenda,” Sheehy said. “So I don’t think his attempt to message himself as a moderate is going to work.”

    A similar situation is developing in Ohio, where three-term Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown faces a tough race in a state expected to vote for Trump.

    Harris visited Ohio when the two were Senate colleagues to raise money for Brown’s 2018 campaign, but Brown has said he has no plans to campaign with her this year. Like Tester, Brown has highlighted legislation he worked on that Trump signed into law.

    Friday’s rally takes place in Gallatin County, which Tester has become increasingly reliant on over the course of his political career.

    He lost the county in his first Senate race, in 2006, but his support has since grown. A substantial margin of victory in Gallatin in 2018 helped push him ahead of Rosendale.

    Republican Don Seifert, a former Gallatin County commissioner, said he voted for Tester that year and plans to do so again this year.

    Seifert backed Trump in 2016 and said he has continued to support other Republicans, including Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte and Sen. Steve Daines.

    “Montanans tend to vote for the person over the party,” Seifert said. “For the state of Montana, Jon is the one that can do what we need.”

    But Sheehy says Tester has lost touch with his home state and fallen into step with Democrats in Washington. The Republican said in a message this week to supporters that Tester was “responsible for the rise of Kamala Harris” because he served as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee from 2015 to 2017, when she was elected to the Senate from California.

    Tester has outraised Sheehy by more than three-to-one in campaign donations reported to the Federal Election Commission. However, outside groups supporting Sheehy have helped the Republican make up much of that gap. Spending in the race is on track to exceed $200 million as advertisements from the two sides saturate Montana’s airwaves.

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    Associated Press reporters Amy Beth Hanson in Helena, Montana, and Julie Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.

    Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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    Matthew Brown, Associated Press

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  • Minnesota Supreme Court upholds law restoring right to vote to people with felony convictions

    Minnesota Supreme Court upholds law restoring right to vote to people with felony convictions

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    The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a 2023 state law that restores voting rights for felons once they have completed their prison sentences.

    The new law was popular with Democrats in the state, including Gov. Tim Walz, who signed it and who is Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in the presidential race. The timing of the decision is important because early voting for next week’s primary election is already underway. Voting for the Nov. 5 general election begins Sept. 20.

    The court rejected a challenge from the conservative Minnesota Voters Alliance. A lower court judge had previously thrown out the group’s lawsuit after deciding it lacked the legal standing to sue and failed to prove that the Legislature overstepped its authority when it voted to expand voting rights for people who were formerly incarcerated for a felony. The high court agreed.

    Before the new law, felons had to complete their probation before they could regain their eligibility to vote. An estimated 55,000 people with felony records gained the right to vote as a result.

    Minnesota Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison had been pushing for the change since he was in the Legislature.

    “Democracy is not guaranteed — it is earned by protecting and expanding it,” Ellison said in a statement. “I’m proud restore the vote is definitively the law of the land today more than 20 years after I first proposed it as a state legislator. I encourage all Minnesotans who are eligible to vote to do so and to take full part in our democracy.”

    Minnesota was among more than a dozen states that considered restoring voting rights for felons in recent years. Advocates for the change argued that disenfranchising them disproportionately affects people of color because of biases in the legal system. An estimated 55,000 Minnesota residents regained the right to vote because of the change.

    Nebraska officials went the other way and decided last month that residents with felony convictions could still be denied voting rights despite a law passed this year to immediately restore the voting rights of people who have finished serving their felony convictions. That decision by Nebraska’s attorney general and secretary of state, both of whom are Republicans, has been challenged in a lawsuit.

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  • How Tim Walz became beloved by young voters with a message that the GOP is ‘weird’

    How Tim Walz became beloved by young voters with a message that the GOP is ‘weird’

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    WASHINGTON – Even before he was on the shortlist for vice president, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was working to portray Donald Trump and Republicans to the American public as “just weird.”

    “These are weird people on the other side. They want to take books away. They want to be in your exam room,” Walz said in a TV interview last month.

    The message started with news interviews and eventually spread like wildfire across social media with the help of young Americans. The simple terminology of labeling the other side as “weird” or “odd” is not revolutionary or sophisticated in American politics but represents a new framing for Democrats who have spent the last eight years trying to defeat Trump and Trumpism by personifying him as the greatest threat to democracy.

    Walz went back to the reference at his first rally Tuesday with Vice President Kamala Harris, saying of Republicans: “These guys are creepy and yes, just weird as hell.”

    “The opposite of normalizing authoritarianism is to make it weird, to call it out and to sort of mock it,” Jennifer Mercieca, a historian at Texas A&M University, who wrote a book on Trump’s rhetoric, said. “To say, ‘Hey, that’s a weird thing you’re doing, calling your opposition enemies instead of saying that they’re good people who have different policy preferences.’”

    Now the party is turning the page with a new generation of candidates trying to appeal not just to Americans’ fears about what a second Trump presidency would mean, but to plainly label the policies and actions of the Republican party as abnormal. And Democrats see no more effective messenger to deliver this new attack than Walz, the 60-year-old Midwestern dad, who on Tuesday was chosen to become their vice presidential nominee.

    “Gov. Walz can do the job, and helps reinforce that we’re team normal,” freshman Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman of Ohio said in a statement Tuesday. “We’re pragmatic, reliable and bipartisan.”

    Walz’s ability to speak in layman’s terms about policy and politics coupled with his knowledge of the internet zeitgeist has helped propel the little-known politician to the national stage and on the “For You” social media pages of millions of Gen Z voters whose support will be crucial for Democrats come November.

    Labeled “the cool dad” online, news that Walz would be the Democratic running mate ignited a stream of online memes, including one with the caption, “To the window to the Walz,” a reference to the hit 2003 rap song “Get Low” by Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz. On TikTok, users created 60-second montages of Walz talking about the phenomenon of the new Charli XCX album Brat, which he says his young daughter helped explain to him, mixed with footage of him lambasting GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance for his comments on “childless cat ladies.”

    “Go ahead and continue to denigrate people. Go ahead. My God, they went after cat people. Good luck with that,” Walz says in a MSNBC clip that has more than 150,000 likes on TikTok. “Turn on the internet. See what cat people do when you go after them.”

    But the same qualities that led Walz to the Democratic ticket are already being used against him by Republicans who have just in the last few hours labeled him as “weird” and “radical.”

    Trump sent a fundraising email Tuesday calling Walz “Dangerously Liberal” and saying he would “unleash HELL ON EARTH.”

    But Walz’s legislative record on issues like protecting abortion rights, legalizing recreational marijuana and restricting gun access have helped him gain popularity with young voters beyond his own solidly blue state to communities across the country.

    Voters of Tomorrow, a Gen Z-led organization that represents young political activists and voters, threw its full support behind Walz after weeks of campaigning on his behalf, saying that he has “dedicated his life to educating and empowering young people as a teacher and public servant.”

    “Governor Walz gets bonus points for articulating exactly how young Americans feel about Donald Trump and JD Vance: They are weird,” Santiago Mayer, the group’s executive director, said in a statement. “Trump and Vance are weirdly fixated on taking away freedoms from Americans and weirdly obsessed with culture wars.”

    Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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    Farnoush Amiri, Associated Press

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  • The Latest: Harris picks Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate

    The Latest: Harris picks Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate

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    Vice President Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, looking to strengthen the Democratic ticket in Midwestern states.

    She will introduce Walz at a rally Tuesday evening in Philadelphia.

    Harris was the only candidate eligible to receive votes after no other candidate qualified by a deadline last week. She officially claimed the nomination Monday night when the DNC released final results.

    Follow the AP’s Election-2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

    Here’s the Latest:

    Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Walz

    Shapiro called Walz “an exceptionally strong addition to the ticket” who’ll help Harris become the 47th president.

    Shapiro, who met with Harris on Sunday about the job, said he was grateful to talk about “her vision for the role and the campaign ahead.”

    “As I’ve said repeatedly over the past several weeks, the running mate decision was a deeply personal decision for the vice president – and it was also a deeply personal decision for me. Pennsylvanians elected me to a four-year term as their governor, and my work here is far from finished – there is a lot more stuff I want to get done for the good people of this commonwealth,” Shapiro said in a statement.

    He said he considers Walz a good friend and pledged to travel the state over the next three months to help Democrats defeat former President Donald Trump “and build a better future for our country.”

    “Vice President Kamala Harris has my enthusiastic support – and I know that Governor Tim Walz is an exceptionally strong addition to the ticket who will help Kamala move our country forward,” Shapiro said.

    At the Governor’s mansion, a Minnesota resident says why he likes Walz

    David Ivory, 46, stood outside the Governor’s mansion with his two children. Ivory found out Walz was selected after his wife texted him “OMG” from work.

    He and his kids immediately hopped on their bikes and rode to the Governor’s residence in St. Paul.

    Ivory and his family are longtime admirers of Walz for his liberal record and amiable political persona.

    “He’s just down to earth. He gets it. He can talk to anybody,” Ivory said. “He doesn’t seem like he’s above anybody. He was teacher. He understands kids, which is very important.”

    Harris says her new running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has ‘delivered for working families’

    “It’s great to have him on the team,” Harris said.

    Harris posted on X that she was proud to announce she asked Walz to join her on the 2024 ticket.

    Voter Coalition Pushes Issue-Based Outreach Strategy to Increase Registration, Shifting from Top of Ticket Politics

    State Voices launched a $3 million nationwide campaign Tuesday to encourage voters of color to vote based on the issues that affect their day-to-day lives, like grocery price spikes or growing rent and mortgage payments.

    Under the Vote for Something campaign, the coalition aims to register 800,000 voters, make more than 250 million voter contacts, and encourage 100,000 people to make a plan to vote on or ahead of the 2024 election for themselves and others.

    They’ve registered more than 400,000 voters so far.

    State Voices, like many voting rights advocates, hopes for messaging that transcends the top of the ticket — a looming match between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.

    “Whatever the issue is that matters to you, vote for something. Get out this November and bring a friend and a family member with you,” said Mishara Davis, the group’s director of issue and electoral organizing.

    The key has been reaching voters who may be tired of the political space altogether or who are eligible to vote but aren’t registered and therefore may not receive voting information — especially in presidential swing states, Georgia, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, which are primary areas under the campaign.

    This comes as Harris, who is in Pennsylvania this week, has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, sources say. The pair will continue the campaign tour to Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada starting Wednesday.

    Environmental group cheers selection of Walz as the Democratic vice presidential candidate

    Manish Bapna, president and CEO of the NRDC Action Fund, the political arm of the Natural Resources Defense Council, called Harris and Walz “the winning ticket on climate. The Harris-Walz administration will be ready, on day one, to build on the strongest climate action ever and lead by example in the global fight against the existential challenge of our time.″

    Walz has made Minnesota a national climate leader, Bapna said. Under his leadership, the state committed to 100% clean energy by 2040, and Minnesota was the first Midwestern state to adopt California’s strict tailpipe emissions standards. Walz also signed a bill last year directing $240 million to replace lead service water lines statewide.

    “The stakes in this election couldn’t be higher nor the choice more clear. Trump would bow to billionaire oil and gas donors, slam climate progress into reverse and leave our kids to pay the price. Harris is a proven climate and justice leader with two decades of public service on the front lines of needed progress and change. She’s shown us what leadership looks like, and she’s earned the chance to lead,” Bapna said.

    The National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund praises Walz’s selection

    “The National LGBTQ Action Fund expected a strategic and bold choice as a strong addition to the ticket as a Vice-Presidential candidate,” Sayre E. Reece, vice president of the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund, said Tuesday in a statement. “In Governor Walz we have gotten both.”

    Reece continued: “Governor Walz has been a steadfast ally and advocate for the LGBTQ community, including support for trans affirming care, bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom and gun control. As Governor, Walz signed a ban on so-called ‘conversion therapy’ into law, ending the harmful and cruel practice that has cost LGBTQ people their dignity and their lives. Under Walz’s leadership, Minnesota is both a ‘trans sanctuary’ and immigration sanctuary state.”

    The National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund describes itself as lobbying for legislation and ballot initiatives that “achieve justice” for LGBTQ people.

    At Walz’s residence in Minnesota

    A growing crowd of residents and news reporters gathered outside Walz’s residence in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Tuesday morning.

    Black and white SUVs periodically pulled into the driveway as onlookers waited to catch a glimpse of Walz leaving the 20-room governor’s mansion near the Mississippi River.

    No immediate comment from Vance on Harris picking Walz as her running mate

    Boarding his campaign plane Tuesday morning in Cincinnati for a swing through battleground states this week, Ohio Sen. JD Vance did not answer shouted questions about Harris picking Walz as her running mate.

    On Tuesday, Vance was heading to Pennsylvania, where Harris planned to debut with her new running mate later in the day.

    Trump attacks Walz in a fundraising email

    Donald Trump sent a fundraising email calling Walz “Dangerously Liberal” and saying he would “unleash HELL ON EARTH.”

    Moments after Harris’ VP pick became public, the former president and Republican nominee said Walz would be the worst vice president in history, claiming the Minnesota governor would “light TRILLIONS of dollars on fire” and open U.S. borders to criminals.

    “HE’S THAT BAD,” the email says.

    The selection process that led Harris to pick Walz as her running mate

    A team of lawyers and political operatives led by former attorney general Eric Holder pored over documents and conducted interviews with potential vice presidential selections.

    And Harris herself met with her three finalists on Sunday. She mulled the decision over Monday with top aides at the vice president’s residence in Washington and finalized it Tuesday morning.

    Walz emerged as the choice.

    A Minnesota Democratic strategist praises Walz’s ability to connect with voters

    Minnesota Democratic strategist Abu Amara says Walz will be a good surrogate for Harris across the upper Midwest, because he represented a rural U.S. House district but won statewide in a state with large metropolitan and suburban areas.

    “He’s not trying to speak in poetry. He speaks in practicality,” Amara said. “That’s a level of accessibility for so many voters.”

    “He has the ability to connect with rural, suburban and urban voters,” he said.

    Some Republicans are already reacting to the selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as Harris’ VP pick

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called it the “most left-wing ticket in American history” and accused Walz of not doing enough to protect Minnesota during the 2020 protests over the killing of George Floyd.

    He said “Walz sat by and let Minneapolis burn.”

    Tropical Storm Debby continues to upend Harris’ travel plans this week

    The campaign had already pulled down a planned stop in Savannah, Georgia, because of the weather.

    But the Democratic presidential nominee will now no longer travel to Raleigh, North Carolina, either, according to the campaign. She was set to travel to Raleigh on Thursday.

    Harris is launching a tour of battleground states on Tuesday evening, starting in Philadelphia.

    Harris picks Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as running mate, AP sources say

    Vice President Kamala Harris picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate on Tuesday. That’s according to three people who spoke to The Associated Press.

    In choosing Walz, she’s turning to a Midwestern governor, military veteran and union supporter who helped enact an ambitious Democratic agenda for his state, including sweeping protections for abortion rights and generous aid to families. The people were not authorized to speak publicly about the choice and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

    — Seung Min Kim, Zeke Miller and Colleen Long

    Sources say Harris has decided on a running mate

    Vice President Kamala Harris has decided on a running mate and an announcement is expected in the coming hours before the two appear together at a Philadelphia rally, according to three people familiar with her decision.

    In recent days, she has zeroed in on a trio of potential finalists: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. It wasn’t clear yet who she picked.

    The people were familiar with her plans but spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss a decision that had not been publicly announced.

    Harris’ campaign planned to make the announcement via video message before the rally, though the exact timing remained unclear, according to a person involved in the planning who spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail discussions occurring behind closed doors.

    — Seung Min Kim, Zeke Miller and Colleen Long

    Harris formally secures the Democratic presidential nomination

    Vice President Kamala Harris formally secured the Democratic presidential nomination late Monday — becoming the first woman of color to lead a major party ticket.

    Harris’ nomination became official after a five-day round of online balloting by Democratic National Convention delegates ended Monday night, with the party saying in a statement released just before midnight that 99% of delegates casting ballots had done so for Harris. It said it would next formally certify the vote before holding a celebratory roll call at the party’s convention later this month in Chicago.

    Harris’ coronation as her party’s standard-bearer caps a tumultuous and frenetic period for Democrats prompted by President Joe Biden’s disastrous June debate performance.

    As soon as Biden abruptly ended his candidacy, Harris and her team worked rapidly to secure backing from the 1,976 party delegates needed to clinch the nomination in a formal roll call vote. She reached that marker at warp speed, with an Associated Press survey of delegates nationwide showing she locked down the necessary commitments a mere 32 hours after Biden’s announcement.

    Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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    Associated Press

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  • 5 arrested in deadly shooting at Minnesota’s Mall of America

    5 arrested in deadly shooting at Minnesota’s Mall of America

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    BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Five people were arrested in the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old man at the Mall of America that sent the sprawling commercial center into lockdown on one of the final days of the holiday shopping season, police said Saturday.

    At an evening news conference, Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges announced the arrests in connection with the Friday night shooting in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington and said all would face murder charges, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

    Hodges said the arrested suspects were two men, 18, and three 17-year-old male juveniles, according to the Star Tribune, and they were taken into custody in the morning at a home in nearby St. Louis Park by SWAT team officers from three jurisdictions.

    The chief added that one of the 18-year-olds is believed to be the shooter, though another suspect may also have fired a weapon. A sixth suspect was still being sought.

    “In Bloomington, if you come here and murder people at our mall, you get one of these at at Christmas,” the newspaper quoted Hodges as saying while holding up an orange prison suit.

    Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz tweeted Saturday that the mall shooting was “absolutely unacceptable. We are in touch with local officials to provide the support and resources they need.”

    Police have not yet identified the slain 19-year-old, but the police chief and Bloomington Mayor Tim Busse have spoken with the man’s relatives.

    The gunfire Friday at the Nordstrom store in the nation’s largest shopping center sent frightened customers scurrying for safety. A bystander was said to have had their jacket grazed by a bullet.

    There appeared to be some type of altercation between two groups that escalated into a fistfight, and someone pulled out a gun and shot the victim multiple times, according to police. The entire incident lasted about 30 seconds.

    A nearby Bloomington police officer — one of 16 stationed at the mall that day — heard the gunshots around 7:50 p.m. The officer tried life-saving measures but was unable to save the victim.

    The lockdown lasted for about an hour before the mall tweeted that shoppers were being sent outside. Videos posted on social media showed people hiding in stores, and an announcement in the mall warned people to seek shelter.

    Since it opened in 1992, the Mall of America has been a tourist destination and community gathering spot. It bans guns on the premises, but shoppers have generally not been required to pass through metal detectors. The mall said in October it was testing a “weapons detection system” at one of its entrances.

    The mall was placed on lockdown in August after a reported shooting sent some shoppers running for cover, and two people were wounded last New Year’s Eve during an apparent altercation.

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  • 5 arrested in deadly shooting at Minnesota’s Mall of America

    5 arrested in deadly shooting at Minnesota’s Mall of America

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    BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Five people were arrested in the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old man at the Mall of America that sent the sprawling commercial center into lockdown on one of the final days of the holiday shopping season, police said Saturday.

    At an evening news conference, Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges announced the arrests in connection with the Friday night shooting in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington and said all would face murder charges, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

    Hodges said the arrested suspects were two men, 18, and three 17-year-old male juveniles, according to the Star Tribune, and they were taken into custody in the morning at a home in nearby St. Louis Park by SWAT team officers from three jurisdictions.

    The chief added that one of the 18-year-olds is believed to be the shooter, though another suspect may also have fired a weapon. A sixth suspect was still being sought.

    “In Bloomington, if you come here and murder people at our mall, you get one of these at at Christmas,” the newspaper quoted Hodges as saying while holding up an orange prison suit.

    Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz tweeted Saturday that the mall shooting was “absolutely unacceptable. We are in touch with local officials to provide the support and resources they need.”

    Police have not yet identified the slain 19-year-old, but the police chief and Bloomington Mayor Tim Busse have spoken with the man’s relatives.

    The gunfire Friday at the Nordstrom store in the nation’s largest shopping center sent frightened customers scurrying for safety. A bystander was said to have had their jacket grazed by a bullet.

    There appeared to be some type of altercation between two groups that escalated into a fistfight, and someone pulled out a gun and shot the victim multiple times, according to police. The entire incident lasted about 30 seconds.

    A nearby Bloomington police officer — one of 16 stationed at the mall that day — heard the gunshots around 7:50 p.m. The officer tried life-saving measures but was unable to save the victim.

    The lockdown lasted for about an hour before the mall tweeted that shoppers were being sent outside. Videos posted on social media showed people hiding in stores, and an announcement in the mall warned people to seek shelter.

    Since it opened in 1992, the Mall of America has been a tourist destination and community gathering spot. It bans guns on the premises, but shoppers have generally not been required to pass through metal detectors. The mall said in October it was testing a “weapons detection system” at one of its entrances.

    The mall was placed on lockdown in August after a reported shooting sent some shoppers running for cover, and two people were wounded last New Year’s Eve during an apparent altercation.

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