‘Never Underestimate a Public School Teacher’: Key Moments from Tim Walz’s DNC Speech
Vice presidential candidate Tim Walz gave a rousing 14-minute psych-up speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Wednesday night. The former high school teacher and football coach turned Minnesota governor tapped into his experience revving up players on the field to encourage Democrats to help Vice President Kamala Harris beat former President Donald Trump in the November election.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00It's the honor of my life to accept your nomination for Vice President of the United States.
00:21We're all here tonight for one beautiful, simple reason.
00:28We love this country.
00:33So thank you to all of you here in Chicago and all of you watching at home tonight.
00:38Thank you for your passion. Thank you for your determination.
00:42And most of all, thank you for bringing the joy to this fight.
00:48But it was those players and my students who inspired me to run for Congress.
00:54They saw in me what I had hoped to instill in them.
00:58A commitment to the common good.
01:01An understanding that we're all in this together.
01:05And the belief that a single person can make a real difference for their neighbors.
01:12So there I was, a 40-something high school teacher with little kids,
01:20zero political experience, and no money, running in a deep red district.
01:27But you know what? Never underestimate a public school teacher.
01:33Never.
01:36When Republicans use the word freedom, they mean that the government should be free to invade your doctor's office.
01:44Corporations, free to pollute your air and water.
01:49And banks, free to take advantage of customers.
01:54But when we Democrats talk about freedom,
01:58we mean the freedom to make a better life for yourself and the people that you love.
02:06Freedom to make your own health care decisions.
02:11And yeah, your kids' freedom to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the hall.
02:22Look, I know guns.
02:25I'm a veteran. I'm a hunter.
02:28And I was a better shot than most Republicans in Congress, and I got the trophies to prove it.
02:36But I'm also a dad.
02:39I believe in the Second Amendment, but I also believe our first responsibility is to keep our kids safe.
02:51That's what this is all about.
02:53Some folks just don't understand what it takes to be a good neighbor.
02:57Take Donald Trump and J.D. Vance.
03:01Their Project 2025 will make things much, much harder for people who are just trying to live their lives.
03:10They spent a lot of time pretending they know nothing about this.
03:15But look, I coached high school football long enough to know, and trust me on this,
03:20when somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they're going to use it.
03:26Here's the thing. It's an agenda nobody asked for.
03:31It's an agenda that serves nobody except the richest and the most extreme amongst us.
03:41And it's an agenda that does nothing for our neighbors in need.
03:46Is it weird? Absolutely. Absolutely.
03:51But it's also wrong. And it's dangerous.
03:56So while other states were banning books from their schools, we were banishing hunger from ours.
04:11We also protected reproductive freedom.
04:16Because in Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and the personal choices they make.
04:24And even if we wouldn't make those same choices for ourselves, we've got a golden rule.
04:31Mind your own damn business.
04:39And that includes IVF and fertility treatments.
04:45Look, we've got 76 days. That's nothing.
04:51There'll be time to sleep when you're dead. We're going to leave it on the field.
04:59That's how we'll keep moving forward. That's how we'll turn the page on Donald Trump.
05:05That's how we'll build a country where workers come first.
05:09Healthcare and housing are human rights.
05:15And the government stays the hell out of your bedroom.
05:24That's how we make America a place where no child is left hungry.
05:30Where no community is left behind.
05:33Where nobody gets told they don't belong.
05:36That's how we're going to fight.
05:38And as the next President of the United States always says,
05:42When we fight, we win.
05:49Thank you. God bless.