Kamala Harris campaigns with Veep pick Tim Walz, Trump's 'most radical left' jab

US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on Tuesday (local time) was all praise for his running mate Tim Walz, highlighting his proven record as Minnesota Governor and Army Guard. She said that Walz would inspire people to dream big.

Speaking at a rally in Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, one of the battleground states, Harris, with Walz standing next to her, said, "He’s the kind of person who makes people feel like they belong and then inspires them to dream big. That’s the kind of vice president America deserves."

This was the first campaign of Harris and Walz after the Vice President named him her running mate on Tuesday. As they campaigned together, Trump hit out and called the duo "the most radical left".

During the rally, Harris, the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to lead a major party ticket, mentioned Walz as a husband, father, coach, veteran, congressman, governor. She predicted that he was set to earn one more title after the November 5 election and that was the 'Vice President of the US'.

On his part, Walz revved up the crowd and said they had a lot of work to do. He said it was time to unite and defeat former US President and Harris's Republican rival Donald Trump.

"We’ve got 91 days. My God, that’s easy. We’ll sleep when we’re dead," he said.

Mentioning his background, Walz described his upbringing in a small town in Nebraska, his 24-year tenure in the Army Guard and his past careers as a high school social studies teacher and football coach.

Slamming Trump, Walz accused him of causing chaos and division during his presidency from 2017 to 2021.

"He (Trump) mocks our laws, he sows chaos and division, and that's to say nothing of his record as president. He froze in the face of the Covid-19 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," he said.

He also criticised Republicans for pursuing curbs on women's reproductive rights, an issue that has plagued Republicans since the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that put an end to women's constitutional right to abortion.

"Even if we wouldn't make the same choice for ourselves, there's a golden rule: mind your own damn business!" he said.

Since Walz was named by Harris as her running mate, the Vice President's campaign has raised over $20 million.

Meanwhile, the Trump campaign called Walz a "far-left liberal". The same sentiment was voiced by Trump himself who described Harris and Walz as "the most radical left duo in American history".

"It’s no surprise that San Francisco Liberal Kamala Harris wants West Coast wannabe Tim Walz as her running-mate – Walz has spent his governorship trying to reshape Minnesota in the image of the Golden State," Trump’s campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

On his Truth Social platform, Trump said, "This is the most Radical Left duo in American history. There has never been anything like it, and there never will be again. Crazy Kamabla is, indeed, CRAZY. I HEAR THERE IS A BIG MOVEMENT TO “BRING BACK CROOKED JOE."

He claimed that US President Joe Biden, who withdrew his re-election bid last month, felt "he made a historically tragic mistake" and would attempt to get back into the race again.

Trump's running mate JD Vance took aim at Walz over his handling of protests after George Floyd, a Black man, was killed in Minneapolis by a white police officer in 2020. He said Walz was not assertive enough in dealing with rioters.

"The biggest problem with the Tim Walz pick - it's not Tim Walz himself. It's what it says about Kamala Harris, that when given the opportunity she will bend the knee to the most radical elements of her party," Vance told reporters in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Walz secured the No 2 role, edging past Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, who came under fire from progressive groups and pro-Palestinian activists over his support for Israel and his handling of protests in colleges sparked by the war in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Harris and Walz are expected to visit critical swing states, including Wisconsin, Arizona and Nevada, after their joint rally in Philadelphia.

(with inputs from Reuters and AP)