The network evening newscasts wasted no time welcoming Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to the bright lights of national politics as he was announced as Vice President Kamala Harris’s chosen running mate. And it was a warm welcome, indeed.
ABC, as the most Harris-sycophantic network, ran a flattering profile of Walz within the broader report on the pick and the rally, unlike NBC and CBS which did standalone reports focused solely on Walz.
Here’s how ABC condensed Walz’ resumé for viewer consumption:
RACHEL SCOTT: Walz grew up in rural Nebraska, served 24 years in the Army National Guard. He moved to Minnesota, his wife Gwen's home state, taught high school social studies, coached the football team. In 2007, Walz unseated a Republican, serving six terms in Congress. The two-term governor codifying abortion rights in the state after the fall of Roe versus Wade, enacting gun safety legislation, and guaranteeing free lunches in public schools. Walz laughing off criticism that his record is too liberal.
WALZ: What a monster. Kids are eating and having full bellies so they can go learn, and women are making their own health care decisions.
The report ran nearly five minutes, but not one second was dedicated to Walz’ dismal handling of the George Floyd riots of 2020, and his unacceptable delay in calling in the National Guard as Minneapolis and other cities nearly burned to the ground. CBS and NBC devoted time to this part of Walz’ history.
Other things not covered: some of Walz’ truly controversial initiatives as governor, such as his signing of legislation making Minnesota a “trans refuge” state. Per The New York Post:
Walz, 60, a former high school teacher, signed the so-called “Trans Refuge” bill into law in April 2023, prohibiting the enforcement of out-of-state subpoenas, arrest warrants and extradition requests for people who travel to the North Star State from other states for gender-affirming care.
A month earlier, the Democrat signed an executive order protecting gender-affirming care in Minnesota, including puberty blockers, surgeries and hormone therapy.
The action also called upon state agencies not to approve health insurance plans that didn’t cover gender-affirming operations.
“As states across the country move to ban access to gender-affirming care, we want LGBTQ Minnesotans to know they will continue to be safe, protected, and welcome in Minnesota,” Walz said in a statement at the time.
On “codifying abortion rights”, the fundamental “freedom” most ardently championed by the Harris-Walz campaign and their media allies, we get awful clarity about what that means, precisely. As reported by Mary Margaret Olohan:
As Democrats and media outlets accuse former President Donald Trump of dramatizing the Democratic abortion agenda, data from the Minnesota Department of Health shows that at least eight babies who survived abortions in the state were left to die.
Under a 2015 Minnesota law, the state formerly was required to report whether abortions resulted in the live birth of a baby, what actions were taken to preserve the life of that baby, and whether the baby survived.
Those reporting requirements exposed that between Jan. 1, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2021, physicians performed five abortions that resulted in a baby’s live birth.
None of those babies survived. None received lifesaving care. Two of them received “comfort care”, the type of care first described by then-Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and which we are told NEVER happens. To add insult to injury, Walz changed the rules after these deaths.
None of the networks covered these inconvenient parts of Walz’ record. In fact, they did their level best to hide these items from public consumption. Rest assured, they will become part of the public record, and they will do so a lot sooner than the Regime Media would like.
Click “expand” to view the full transcripts of the aforementioned reports as aired on their respective evening network newscasts on Tuesday, August 6th, 2024:
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
8/6/24
6:35 PM
LESTER HOLT: In a new poll, almost three quarters of Americans say they've never heard of Tim Walz or don't have an opinion on him. But that's about to change as he steps into the spotlight. Here’s Gabe Gutierrez with a closer look.
GABE GUTIERREZ: A white-haired working-class politician from the rural Midwest, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is seen as a plainspoken attack dog, who is not shy about taking on the Republican ticket.
TIM WALZ: These guys are just weird. And, you know, they're running for He-Man Women Haters’ Club or something.
GUTIERREZ: At 60 years old, he’s just six months older than Kamala Harris, but they're from very different backgrounds. Walz grew up in small-town Nebraska, spending summers working on the family farm. At 17 he joined the National Guard, eventually becoming a school teacher and football coach and meeting his wife Gwen. After moving to Minnesota, the father of two was elected to Congress in 2006 and ran for governor in 2018, winning in a landslide. His progressive record now touted by Democrats includes creating paid medical family leave, legalizing recreational marijuana, and increasing tax credits for low-income families. But Republicans have slammed other bills he signed, making undocumented immigrants ineligible for driver’s licenses, state funded health care, and free college tuition at state universities. Also, in 2020, as George Floyd's killing triggered riots and looting in Minneapolis, Walz drew criticism over why it took him three days to call in the National Guard.
WALZ: It is what it is. And I simply believe that we try to do the best we can.
GUTIERREZ: But Walz also brings strong union support as Democrats look to appeal to the critical Rust Belt.
WALZ: I had an opponent who thought this was a real zinger when we were going at it. He said “Governor Walz is in the pocket of organized labor”. And I said “that is a damn lie. I am the pocket”.
GUTIERREZ: A hunter and gun owner, Congressman Walz was once endorsed by the NRA. but that changed dramatically when he became governor, since he’s backed new gun restrictions. Lester.
HOLT: All right, Gabe. Thank you.
CBS EVENING NEWS
CBS EVENING NEWS
8/6/24
6:34 PM
MAJOR GARRETT: Tim Walz's path to the presidential ticket went from the Army National Guard, to the schoolhouse, to Capitol Hill, to the Governor's Mansion. CBS's Ed O'Keefe has more on who Walz is and where he stands.
ED O’KEEFE: A quip by Tim Walz two weeks ago about former President Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance grabbed Democrats' attention.
TIM WALZ: These are weird people on the other side. They want to take books away. They want to be in your exam room.
O’KEEFE: And it caught on.
KAMALA HARRIS: And by the way, don't you find some of their stuff to just be plain weird?
O’KEEFE: Born in Nebraska, the 60-year-old governor in his second term has marveled at the interest in him.
WALZ: I don't know if every high school geography teacher expects to be in this position at some point.
O’KEEFE: He also coached a state champion high school football team. An Army National Guard veteran, Walz first ran for Congress in 2006, concerned about the Iraq War.
WALZ: Our troops deserve a plan to win the peace.
O’KEEFE: He represented a southern Minnesota district that strongly backed Trump in 2016, and developed a bipartisan reputation that got him elected governor in 2018. Critics blamed him for a flat-footed response in 2020 to violence sparked by George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis.
WALZ: This has obviously been the most difficult week in Minnesota in recent history.
O’KEEFE: A series of police reforms, including a ban on chokeholds, followed. More recently, he signed bills expanding school meals programs, banning conversion therapy for minors, and protecting abortion services- even visiting a women's health clinic in Minnesota with Harris.
He and his wife Gwen have two children, including a daughter conceived through IVF.
WALZ: Governor Walz here, out at the State Fair with my daughter.
HOPE WALZ: Hope.
O’KEEFE: Who has co-starred with him in some of his most popular videos.
WALZ: We’re going to get some food. Corn Dog?
HOPE: I'm a vegetarian.
WALZ: Turkey, then.
O’KEEFE: We’re told when Harris called this morning, Walz didn’t initially answer because came up as no caller I.D. She called again, he answered and accepted and the duo has now raised at least $20 million since the announcement this morning. Another sign, Major, of fresh enthusiasm for the Democratic ticket.
GARRETT: Not a spam call after all. Ed O’Keefe, thank you.
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT
8/6/24
6:32 PM
LINSEY DAVIS: Tonight, the speculation is over. The Democratic ticket now complete. With her campaign barely two weeks old, today, Vice President Kamala Harris made her most consequential decision so far, naming Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. Just moments ago, they made their debut during a rally in Philadelphia. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz side-by-side for the first time in front of about 12,000 cheering supporters. Walz, a progressive governor, considered a dark horse, chosen after a quick vetting process, managing to edge out popular Pennsylvania Senator(sic) Josh Shapiro. Walz is a retired Army National Guard member. Also, a former high school teacher and football and basketball coach. The Trump campaign immediately going on the attack, calling him a liberal extremist. But top Democrats were quick to embrace the new add to the ticket. President Biden calling Governor Walz a powerful voice for the middle class. Walz is already credited with changing the tone of the race with just one word. ABC's Rachel Scott leads us off from Philadelphia.
RACHEL SCOTT: Tonight, Vice President Kamala Harris introducing her new running mate.
KAMALA HARRIS: Governor Tim Walz of the great state of Minnesota.
SCOTT: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz joined Harris on stage in Philadelphia before a crowd of thousands, calling it the honor of a lifetime, saying he's all in.
SCOTT: Supporters lining up hours before their first joint appearance. It's been just 16 days since Harris became a candidate.
HARRIS: We are the underdogs in this race. But we have the momentum and I know exactly what we are up against.
SCOTT: Harris making the call this morning.
HARRIS: I want you to do this with me. Let's do this together. Would you be my running mate? And let's get this thing on the road.
WALZ: I would be honored, Madam Vice President.
SCOTT: Crowds cheering as Walz left his St. Paul home this morning, flying to Philadelphia to join Harris on a blitz through the battleground states. The decision came down to the wire. Her campaign printing multiple signs with the names of different contenders. Among the finalists, popular Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and Arizona Senator and former astronaut Mark Kelly. But in the end, Walz and Harris really hit it off. Walz grew up in rural Nebraska, served 24 years in the Army National Guard. He moved to Minnesota, his wife Gwen's home state, taught high school social studies, coached the football team. In 2007, Walz unseated a Republican, serving six terms in Congress. The two-term governor codifying abortion rights in the state after the fall of Roe versus Wade, enacting gun safety legislation, and guaranteeing free lunches in public schools. Walz laughing off criticism that his record is too liberal.
WALZ: What a monster. Kids are eating and having full bellies so they can go learn, and women are making their own health care decisions.
SCOTT: Walz and his wife have two children, Gus and Hope. Hope a fixture on Walz's social media.
WALZ: Hi, Minnesota, Governor Walz here along with…
HOPE WALZ: Hope.
SCOTT: Walz's star rising in Democratic circles in recent days, after he coined a new line of attack against Republicans.
WALZ: These are weird people on the other side. These guys are just weird. That's what they are.
SCOTT: Calling them “weird”.
WALZ: They want to take books away. They want to be in your exam room, that's what it comes down to. And don't sugar coat this. These are weird ideas.
SCOTT: Tonight, the Trump campaign calling Walz a liberal extremist.
JD VANCE: And again, 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 an opportunity, she will bend the knee to the most radical elements of her party.
SCOTT: Senator JD Vance on a tour of his own through the battleground states, saying he reached out to his new rival.
VANCE: I actually called Tim Walz. I left a voicemail. I didn't get him, but I just said "Look, congratulations. Look forward to a robust conversation, and enjoy the ride."
DAVIS: Let's get right to Rachel Scott, who’s at the Harris-Walz rally in Philadelphia. Rachel, it seems the Harris campaign is really banking on Walz helping to deliver voters in key battleground states in the Midwest and in Pennsylvania.
SCOTT: Exactly, Linsey. In fact, this Democratic ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris, Governor Walz, they're continuing their swing through the battleground states, next heading to Wisconsin and Michigan. A source close to the vetting process tells me they believe that Walz will appeal to those Midwestern blue collar voters in those critical states that they need to win. Tonight, Vice President Kamala Harris says they're already seeing momentum in those states. As for former President Donald Trump, tonight, I'm told that his campaign is relieved that it is not Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro on the ticket. At the same time, the former president has been fuming on social media that president Joe Biden is out of this race, Linsey.
DAVIS: Lots of excitement in that room. Rachel, thank you.
