They were the vice presidential candidate Tim Walz and former president Bill Clinton the protagonists of the third day of Democratic Convention waiting for Kamala Harris' speech scheduled for tonight. But the former speaker of the House also took to the stage in Chicago Nancy Pelosi and the very popular TV presenter Oprah Winfrey who launched an appeal to independent and undecided voters, asking them to vote for the Harris-Walz ticket and to take into consideration "the values and character of the candidates, the most important thing".
Tim Walz's speech
Walz officially accepted the nomination and he gave a rather short but effective speech, in which he took advantage of the media attention to talk about himself and present themselves to the general public. To date, in fact, four out of 10 Americans don't know who he is (but there were many more who didn't know just a month ago) and, according to the latest polls, 44% of voters have a positive image of him, 34% a negative one. .
Il governor of Minnesota, who appeared very excited, introduced himself to the Americans in his role as a teacher but also as a coach ("Coach Waltz" said the delegates' signs).
“We have the winning team, we have to play for 76 days and we will get there,” he said to applause. “Kamala Harris is ready to lead the country” she added, without sparing any digs at her rival JD Vance. “I grew up in a small town in Nebraska, there were 24 kids in my school and none of them went to Yale,” he said, winning over the crowd with a combative speech.
Walz then spoke of “freedom”, a word that in the US is often associated with republican values. “When Republicans use that word, they mean that the government should be free to invade your doctor's office. They mean that companies should be free to pollute the air and water. And the banks are free to take advantage of their customers. When we Democrats talk about freedom, we mean the freedom to build a better life for yourself and the people you care about. The freedom to make your own healthcare decisions. And yes, the freedom of your children to go to school without fear of someone killing them in the hallway. I know weapons. I was a soldier. I'm a hunter. I shoot better than many of my Republican colleagues and I have the trophies to prove it. But I'm also a father. I believe in the Second Amendment. But I also believe that our first responsibility is to protect young people."
Bill Clinton's speech
The road to victory – Bill Clinton warned – is not easy and the Democrats must not give up. “We have seen several elections slip away that we thought we had won,” he said, also referring to the defeat of his wife Hillary Clinton against Donald Trump. He did not use flattering words for the former president: he is a good actor, he jokes referring to his lies.
“Next time you hear him speak don't count his lies, count how many times I say. Always me, me, me. With Kamala, however, it's you, you, you. We insteadWe The People“, he explained, observing how the vote is really a choice between 'We The People' and 'me and myself'”.
“Do you want to spend the next four years growing the economy or talking about how big the crowds are at his rallies?”, observed the former president, inviting Americans to vote for Harris, who has “the experience, the character and joy” to lead. She is “the president of joy”.
Clinton also recalled the great work done by Joe Biden and compared him to George Washington for having “done a very difficult thing for a politician: to voluntarily relinquish power.”
The words of Nancy Pelosi
The former speaker of the chamber also thanked Biden Nancy Pelosi, one of the key figures in the president's retirement, who in a short speech defines his administration as "one of the most successful" in recent history.
“January 6 – he warned – was a dangerous moment for our democracy. Never in the history of the United States has a president attacked the foundations of the system, encouraged political violence and betrayed his oath. Let's not forget who attacked democracy: Donald Trump. And let's not forget who saved her: us." So he made this appeal to America: “We must choose leaders who believe in free elections and respect the peaceful transfer of power. The choice couldn't be clearer: Harris and Walz".
