Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) has revealed the simple words of encouragement that Vice President Kamala Harris said to him before he gave his introduction speech in August at a Harris rally in Philadelphia.
“I’m standing at that door in Philadelphia,” Walz said on Monday’s episode of the podcast “SmartLess.” “Like, 12, 15,000 people waiting to see the vice president and this announcement. She and I are standing outside the curtain and she’s like, you know, ‘Well, get this right.’”
Walz told the hosts of “SmartLess,” actors Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes, about getting the call that he was going to be Harris’ running mate in the 2024 election.
“Within 20 minutes, my life changed,” Walz said. “I’m minding my own damn business at home, and all of a sudden, it blows up.”
He said soon, people had arrived to pack his bags for him, and he was taken to Philadelphia on a private flight.
“I’ve never flown on a private plane to do this,” Walz said.
Arnett interjected, joking: “That’s funny, because Jason’s never not.”
Walz said he warned Harris’ team that he had never given a speech from a teleprompter.
“I speak, and it has its problems, and I told them that,” Walz said. “You’ll get about 90% good and then you’ll get 10% stuff you’ll have to clean up. That’s me, cause that’s how I talk.”
He said he was put in the back of a college locker room in an area made up to look like the stage he’d soon be standing on. He practiced a bit, he said, and then it was time to do it for real.
Walz also spoke about women’s health care on the podcast. Arnett said it’s the most important issue for him in this year’s election.
“Men need to know how to talk about it,” Walz said. “Men need to know how women’s bodies work, and how doctors understand that. And I think that’s something that has changed.”
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Walz continued: “You think they’re sitting around in the bar in Wisconsin saying, ‘You know what we really need to do? We need to ban Orwell’s books and we need to give billionaires a tax cut and we need to repress women.’ Let’s hope not.”
Walz also said he agrees with Harris’ plan to appoint a Republican to her Cabinet if she wins. He mentioned former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) as “super conservative” politicians who are “honorable” and “honest.” (Flake has endorsed Harris, while Lankford has repeatedly been critical of both her and the Biden administration.)
“Some of these people need to be put in a position where they truly have the ability to influence things, because they are ethical and they care about this country,” Walz said.