Minnesota governor brings China experience to US presidential race
US Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her newly selected vice-presidential running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, campaigned for the first time together on Aug 6 in Philadelphia, kicking off a multiday tour of battleground states aimed at introducing Walz to the national stage.
Addressing a raucous crowd of more than 10,000 at Temple University, Walz described his upbringing in a small Nebraska town, his 24 years serving in the Army National Guard, and his prior career as a high school social studies teacher and football coach.
He also went after Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate Senator J.D. Vance, an early demonstration of how Walz will approach the traditional “attack dog” role of the vice-presidential candidate despite his affable, folksy style.
Trump “mocks our laws, he sows chaos and division, and that’s to say nothing of his record as president”, Walz said. “He froze in the face of the COVID crisis, he drove our economy into the ground, and make no mistake, violent crime was up under Donald Trump. That’s not even counting the crimes he committed.”
Harris’ entry into the race after President Joe Biden abandoned his reelection bid just over two weeks ago has rapidly upended the election campaign, with polls showing she has erased the lead Trump had built.
Harris, the US vice-president, announced her choice of Walz earlier in the day, opting for a running mate with executive experience, military service, and a track record of winning over the rural, white voters who have gravitated to Trump over the years.
The Harris campaign said it had raised more than $20 million after the announcement of Walz as the vice-presidential pick.
Born in Nebraska, Walz, 60, enlisted in the Army National Guard when he was just 17. He has visited China dozens of times, including on trade missions, and still speaks some Mandarin.
Following his graduation, he spent approximately a year teaching high school students in China as part of Harvard University’s World-Teach program. Walz, who taught US history, culture, and English in Guangdong province, was among the first government-sanctioned groups of American educators to teach in China.
“They are such kind, generous, capable people. They just gave and gave and gave to me. Going there was one of the best things I have ever done,” he told the Star-Herald of Nebraska in 1990.
Walz and his wife Gwen spent their two-week honeymoon in China in 1994 with some 60 American high school students in tow for “sightseeing and classes on culture, education and history”, according to the Scottsbluff Star-Herald.
In an interview with The Hill in 2007 after his election to Congress from Minnesota in 2006, Walz said of his ties to China: “China was coming, and that’s the reason that I went.”
In 2019, the newly elected Minnesota governor called on then-president Donald Trump to end the “trade war” with China but Politico wrote that he was “no dove” for China.
On US-China relations, the Daily Mail reported on Aug 6 that Walz said recently he did not accept that China had to be an “adversary” of the US.
“I’ve lived in China and, as I’ve said, I’ve been there about 30 times. If anyone tells you they’re an expert on China, they’re probably not telling you the truth because it’s a complex country,” the newspaper quoted Walz as saying. “But it’s critically important for us. I don’t fall into the category that China necessarily needs to be an adversarial relationship; I totally disagree.”
Agencies contributed to this story.
