Tim Walz Rally in Nebraska 8/17/24

Coach, coach, coach, coach, coach.

[inaudible 00:00:00].

Oh yeah, put the mic on mute. Thank you, thank you. Thank you. Wow. Well, hello Nebraska. So thank you. There’s nothing as a teacher that makes you prouder than to see the success of one of your former students and to have Aubrey here. So thank you, Aubrey. And can I just say Nebraska, my God, Jade Dorsey’s voice. Holy smokes. I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but maybe she will need to do something in January too. Wow. Special thank you to somebody who’s been a friend of mine for a long time, who does the hard work to make these types of things happen, the Nebraska Democratic Party chair, Jane Kleeb. And her husband Scott, who’s along for the ride. So Jane, so incredible.

(01:53)
Look, it’s incredible. You saw it here. It’s great. Someone I’ve gotten an opportunity to know, the person who’s going to be your congressman come January, Tony Vargas.

Tony, Tony, Tony, Tony, tony, Tony, Tony.

And anybody willing to put themselves out there and run, I have to tell you, take a hard look at Preston love. We need somebody who’s listening to you. Take a hard look. Take a hard look. Oh, I have to admit, it feels pretty good to be back home. You might’ve seen, things got pretty exciting for me over the last 10 days, but not just for me. If you didn’t notice, a few people showed up in Philly last week, and then about 12,000 showed up, many thousand walking from miles in the heat to a field in Western Wisconsin. Then at that time, the largest rally of the campaign showed up in Detroit, Michigan. Donald Trump said it was AI.

(03:21)
You know what won’t be AI? Their ballots come November will not be AI. Went on to Arizona to have the largest rally that we’re told the largest rally in Arizona history was there. And then get this, in Nevada, it was 109 degrees. 12,000 people showed up for that event. 4,000 people waited in line. 4,000 people waited in line. That state organizer named Shelby, they didn’t just show up at a rally like this. 5,000 of them signed up to door knock, to phone bank, and to do the work.

(04:25)
Now, Shelby ended up going to urgent care to get an IV because it was 109 degrees out. She knows what this is about. She knows what’s at stake. Look, those tens of thousands across this country showed up for the very same reason that you took it. You could have been anywhere on a beautiful Nebraska Saturday in late summer, but you chose to be here… For the most beautiful and simple reason, you love this country.

USA, USA, USA, USA, USA, USA, USA.

Look, I know firsthand about this place. The people in this state are decent people who show kindness, who show generosity. And you know what I also know about this state? Nebraskans don’t fear the future, you make the future. And I know it personally. I was born in West Point, I went to elementary school in Valentine, and I graduated from a town of 400 named Butte. I had 24 classmates, some of them are here today. Folks from that town. And I just want to say this, I don’t know what their politics are, but I’ve known their friendship, I’ve known their kindness. And when our family was down on the luck, they were there for us. I hope I’ve done the same for them. I wouldn’t trade growing up in that town for anything in the world.

(06:51)
Spent my summers working with them, working on the farms. I graduated from Chadron State College. For folks outside of Nebraska, you usually refer to it as Yale of the Midwest. And I taught school in Alliance. Now here I have to be a little careful. I grew up as all of you, bleeding Nebraska red and true blue Husker fan. But now-

Let’s go, Tim. Let’s go, Tim.

But now I’m the governor of Gopher Nation, so I know. Look, I’m going to play it safe. Go Mankato West Scarlets. Never closed the yearbook. Never closed the yearbook. Look, my mom and dad and those people I grew up with, they taught me some things in those communities, show generosity towards your neighbor, work for a common good. They also taught us, and this is for all the people outside of Nebraska, they taught us that chili and cinnamon rolls is the most… That is the most perfect culinary combination in the country. Look, right now, I couldn’t be prouder to be on this ticket to help make Kamala Harris the next President of the United States.

Kamala, kamala, kamala, kamala, Kamala.

I’m taking these guys with me everywhere we go. Look, you’ve heard the Vice President say this. She said, “Only in America could a woman from Oakland, California who worked shifts at the local McDonald’s while she got her degree, be our nominee for President of the United States.” When I heard the McDonald’s story about that she’s worked at McDonald’s, like so many of us growing up took jobs to get by. The funny thing to me was is can you picture Donald Trump working the McFlurry machine? Oh, he knows us. He knows us. He couldn’t work the McFlurry machine. Many of you in here did.

(09:43)
But I have to tell you, from her first day as a prosecutor and then as a district attorney, and then as the Attorney General of the State of California, a United States Senator and our Vice President, Kamala Harris has been on your side fighting for you every step of the way. She’s the one who took on the predators and the fraudsters, she’s the one that took on the transnational gangs, she’s the one who stood up against corporate greed, and she never hesitated to work across the aisle if it was right for the American people. For all the things she’s done over the last 10 days, I have to tell you one of the things I’m most grateful for. She has brought the joy out in this country.

(10:45)
Smile. As the first lady said, you can do the work in front of you and hard work is good work, but you can do it joyfully. You can do it with decency, you can do it with kindness. And my community, this state, taught me a little something about a shared commitment. My dad served in the Army during the Korean War. With his encouragement, two days after I turned 17, I went and raised my hand and joined the Nebraska Army National Guard. I had the privilege of wearing this nation’s uniform for 24 years.

Thank you, Tim. Thank you, Tim. Thank you, Tim. Thank you, Tim. Thank you, Tim.

Thank you all.

Thank you, Tim. Thank you, Tim, Thank you, Tim.

And I’ll tell you, the Guard gave me a lot. The Guard gave me purpose. It gave me the strength of a shared commitment, something bigger and greater than just ourselves. And just that as it did for my dad and millions of others, it gave me the GI Bill and a shot at a college education.

(12:21)
My dad was a teacher. Both my brothers and my sister were teachers. Three out of four of us married teachers. My wife’s parents are teachers. Three of four of her siblings are teachers.

Teachers, teachers, teachers, teachers, teachers, teachers.

Thank you all.

Teachers, teachers, teachers, teachers.

For 20 years, I had the privilege of teaching in our public schools, teaching high school social studies and coaching football. To a State Championship too. But it was my students and my players who really inspired me to run for office. They saw in me what I was hoping to instill in them, a commitment to the common good and a belief. A belief that one person truly can make a difference, each and every one of us. So in 2006, a 42-year-old with little kids teaching, I took a leap and ran for Congress. I didn’t know it at the time, but in that district that I ran in, there had been one other Democrat since 1892. But even though that district was red, my neighbors graced me with the opportunities to represent them in the United States House of Representatives. And for 12 years, I worked bipartisanly on issues like veterans affairs, like agriculture and farm bills, and growing rural economies. I learned how to compromise without compromising my values.

(14:10)
As governor of the great state of Minnesota, I took all those experience and skills to tackling some of the most difficult challenges that our state faces. But more than anything else, just like here in Nebraska, Minnesota’s strength comes from our values. Values of working together, seeing past differences, and always be willing to be a neighbor to lend a helping hand. Those are the values I learned out in Valentine. Those are the values that I learned out in Butte. Those are the values I learned with these people who are here, that I tried to instill in my students that I took to the United States Capitol and took to our State Capitol. Now it’s time for vice President, Harris and I, as we’re running on these values, let’s take them to the White House. Let’s take them to the White House.

(15:05)
It’s time. It’s time. Yesterday, vice President Harris rolled out a plan to start building an opportunity economy during our first 100 days in office. Cutting taxes, not for the billionaires, but for the folks in this room in the middle class. Taking on those who will price gouge at the grocery stores and other stores. Lowering the cost of rent and the opportunity to own your own home. Continuing to cut the cost of prescription drugs that we all depend on. And just like we did in Minnesota, relieving medical debt that straps millions of people.

(15:58)
Now look, we’re positive, but I think we all know Donald Trump sees the world a little differently. You think he would understand the importance of Carhenge as a historical relic?

No.

The British made a replica of it out of stone. It’s so important. Just so we know, or do you think he would know the joy of tubing and swimming the Niobrara as we do in the summer? And this one’s for the gray hairs in this room. You think that guy could understand the pure joy of pre-gaming at Sidetracked before a Husker Sooner game? All I can say about that too is I’m glad there weren’t video cameras around at the time. We’ve been there. Look, in Nebraska, you got a slogan here, Nebraska, it’s not for everyone. Well, it sure ain’t for Donald Trump. I’ll tell you that. This guy is the opposite of everything here. Every opportunity he has, he weakens our country to strengthen his own hand. He mocks our laws, he sows chaos and division amongst us. And that’s not even counting the time he was president. So look, I want to be clear because I know where I’m at and I know my family.

(17:52)
Many of you can probably remember, when Republicans talked about freedom, they meant it. They would’ve never turned their back on our allies. The traditional Republican Party before Donald Trump contributed much to this state and this great nation. But he’s not that.

No.

Today when they talk about freedom, they mean the government should be free to invade your exam room.

No.

Or that corporations should be free to pollute the air and water.

No.

Banks should be free to take advantage of the least fortunate.

No.

Look, in Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and their personal choices.

Yes.

Here in Nebraska, it’s the same way. We might not make those choices for ourselves, but we live by the golden rule, and that golden rule is mind your own damn business. Mind your own damn business. I know this state. I know this state. The kindest generosity. I also know there’s a libertarian bend. You don’t need government to tell you about your healthcare. You don’t need government to pick your books out that you can read. Look, folks, this becomes really personal. And for me, this idea about the healthcare decisions we make and the choices about our family, that’s your family. You don’t need me, you don’t need Donald Trump, you don’t need anyone in government telling you about your family, but that’s exactly what they’re doing. That is exactly what they’re doing. If you’re an old school libertarian, Republican, Nebraskan, this is the ticket for you. This is the ticket for you.

(20:00)
When my wife and I decided we want to have kids, we spent years in fertility treatments. And for those of you, you may not have done it yourself, but I guarantee you know somebody who’s been through this and the nightmare of waiting for the calls after the treatment. Praying that it comes out right, and then that pit in your stomach and that blackness that comes over you, when once again it failed. And year after year, you’re trying to just have that child. So you better be sure. No, it wasn’t by chance. When we finally got the news that we were pregnant and when our first child, our daughter was born, we named her Hope. We named her Hope.

Hope, hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope.

So when this ticket talks about freedom, we mean the freedom to make your own healthcare decisions. Make them yourself. And we mean that your children should be free to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in their classroom. Freedom is when education is a ticket to the middle class, not crippling student loan debt. Freedom where the air is clean, the water is pure, and your communities are safe. And the freedom to settle our political differences, not by violence, but at the ballot box in November. That’s what this is about. That’s how simple this is. What direction are we going to go in? Donald Trump, he wants to take us backwards to a time where people didn’t have that vote. We’re not going back.

We’re not going back.

We’re not going back.

We’re not going back. We’re not going back. We’re not going back. We’re not going back.

And look, when he tries to play dumb about this 2025 plan. I coached football for enough years. When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they plan on using it. He knows what this will do. Restrict our freedoms, rig the economy for the ultrarich by punishing the middle class. If he returns to the White House, he’s going to pick up just where he left off. But the people around him who worked with him the first time are already telling us, it will be much, much worse. Raising costs on you while making it easier for billionaires, repealing the Affordable Care Act so we can go back to pre-existing conditions and making it impossible to get healthcare. And they’re very clear about this. They’re very clear. Gut social security and Medicare for those tax cuts for the wealthy and ban abortion across this country.

(23:02)
We know in this room, abortion is healthcare. And again, that’s your decision to make. That’s your decision. And look, they’re super concerned with our bedrooms. They’re super concerned with our exam rooms. They’re super concerned about our libraries. And I’ll have to tell you, when they make decisions about your healthcare, yes, it’s weird, but it’s worse than that. It’s dangerous. When they try and cut social security for our seniors, like my mom who’ve earned it, that’s not just weird, it’s cruel.

(23:45)
And when they try, which they did and will again, when they try to overturn fair elections, that’s not just weird, that’s un-American. That is un-American. And this idea about knowing us. Let me ask you something on this. Do you think JD Vance knows one damn thing about Nebraska?

No.

He’s going to be here next week. You think he’s ever had a Runza? You think he’s ever had a Runza? That guy would call it a Hot Pocket. You know it. Every one of you in here knows it. A damn Hot Pocket. Now look, he wrote a memoir at the ripe old age of 31, and he claimed to be an expert on Middle America, all the while trashing and denigrating the very community he was raised in. Look, folks in the heartland and in Nebraska and in Minnesota, we don’t need a Yale-educated philosophy major backed by billionaire-venture capitalists to tell us who we are. We know who we are. We know who our neighbors are. Well, I don’t know about all of you. It’s time to put these guys in the rearview mirror. Let’s end this. It’s time to put them in there. Say it with me, you know it’s true. We are not going back to that.

We are not going back to that.

We are not going back to that.

We’re not going back.

We’re not going back.

We’re not going back, we’re not going back, we’re not going back, we’re not going back, we’re not going back, we’re not going back, we’re not going back, we’re not going back, we’re not going back, we’re not going back, we’re not going back, we’re not going back.

So look, over the next 80 days, Vice President Harris and I will be across this country. Tomorrow, I’ll be up working Western Pennsylvania. And I guarantee you, I guarantee you, Western Pennsylvania knows a little about football and they know a little about neighborliness too up there. So we got 80 days, people. That’s easy. And as I’ve been saying, I’m going to ask you this. 80 days, work hard. We can sleep when we’re dead. We can sleep when we’re dead. Not now. Not now. We can do this. We need each and every one of you. We do nothing alone. We need you on the team. On November 5th, I want to be at the end of that day when the ballots close across this country, I want to know, and you want to know, we left it all on the field. We left it all on the field. Leave it on the field.

Coach, coach, coach, coach, coach, coach, coach.

Because each and every one of you believe exactly what Kamala Harris believes. We believe in the promise of America. We just have to fight. We just have to fight for it. Because as the next President of the United States says, she says it often, when we fight, we win.

We win.

When we fight, we win.

We win.

When we fight, we win.

We win.

Thank you, Nebraska. Let’s go.