Kamala Harris holds rally in Pa. with new running mate, Tim Walz: Recap (2024)

The rally has ended. Here’s the recap:

Vice President Kamala Harris’ first rally with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, her new running mate, will be Tuesday evening at Temple University’s 10,000-seat basketball arena. The event is supposed to start at 5:30 p.m. at the Liacouras Center.

It’s Harris’ first campaign stop in Philadelphia since she became the Democratic nominee for president following President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race. She picked Walz as the vice presidential candidate. Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro was also on the short list for running mate, but is keeping his state job.

PennLive will be covering the rally and related political news throughout the day with reporters Juliette Rihl, Jonathan Bergmueller, Charles Thompson, Megan Lavey-Heaton and photographers Jimmie Brown and Sean Simmers.

6:50 p.m.: Walz wraps it all up with a big “God bless America!”

6:47 p.m.: “That is, if he’s willing to get off the couch and show up,” Walz says laughing. “You see what I did there?” The crowd laughs. Walz then says, “These guys are creepy and just weird as hell.”

6:46 p.m.: Walz says he can’t wait to debate Vance.

6:45 p.m.: Walz says “Donald Trump is not fighting for you or your family.” Walz says Trump never sat at the kitchen table wondering how to pay bills; he sat at his country club wondering how to cut taxes for his rich friends.

6:34 p.m.: Walz says there’s “no one you’d rather go to a Springsteen concert in Jersey with than (Shapiro).” Crowd chants “Bruce.”

6:31 p.m.: Now Walz steps up to the podium to speak.

6:30 p.m.: Harris says they are running a campaign “for all Americans, and when we are elected we will govern for all Americans.”

6:22 p.m.: “Tim and I have a message for those who want to turn back the clock on our fundamental freedoms. We’re not going back,” Harris says. The crowd chants, “We’re not going back!”

6:17 p.m.: Harris is still running down Walz’s accolades. Long list and the crowd is enjoying this.

6:08 p.m.: She lists off the qualities she was looking for in a VP, and says, “I’m here today because I found such a leader. Governor Tim Walz of the great state of Minnesota.”

6:07 p.m.: “We fight for a future where we defend our most fundamental freedoms. The freedom to vote. The freedom to be safe from gun violence. The freedom to love who you love openly and with pride. And the freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body, and not having the government tell her what to do.,” Harris says. The crowd cheers wildly.

6:06 p.m.: “This campaign, our campaign is not just a fight against Donald Trump. This campaign, our campaign, is a fight for the future,” Harris tells the crowd.

6:06 p.m.: Harris talks about when she was a DA and taking on perpetrators “of all kinds.” She names a bunch of different types of criminals off and says, “So hear me when I say, ‘I know Donald Trump’s type.’ The crowd cheers.

6:05 p.m.: So now we have some work to do. We need to the general election and win that. “We are the underdogs in this race, but we have the momentum, and I know exactly what we are up against.”

6:04 p.m.: Harris said past two weeks have been “a bit of a whirlwind” since she launched her campaign. “I stand before you today to announce I am now officially the Democratic nominee for president of the United States.”

6:03 p.m.: Harris says “together with Josh Shapiro we will win Pennsylvania, and I thank you Josh, I thank you.”

6:00 p.m.: Big banner in the crowd says “Madam Vice President” but the “Vice” is marked out. Harris prepares to speak and the crowd is going wild.

5:58 p.m.: Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are announced and they take the stage to a rousing ovation.

5:56 p.m.: Break in the action as we await next speaker to follow Shapiro.

5:43 p.m.: Shapiro closes with “let’s get to work.”

5:42 p.m.: Shapiro says “we are not going back to a king,” and crowd chants “we’re not going back,” while doing three stomps. Crowd is hyped up.

5:40 p.m.: Shapiro is really pumping up Harris/Walz on their support of freedoms, etc. Crowd is eating it up. “Freedom is on the ballot, and our fundamental freedoms are at risk.” Despite that, he says, he is “more optimistic than ever before, and the reason I’m more optimistic than ever before is because of all of you.”

5:36 p.m.: Shapiro is now pumping up Walz to the crowd. Calls him a “great patriot.”

5:35 p.m.: The crowd starts chanting “he’s a weirdo” about Vance, and Shapiro says, “Man, I love you Philly.”

5:35 p.m.: Shapiro says JD Vance is not off to a good start, but that’s because he doesn’t know who he is, and that if he can’t be honest with himself he can’t be honest with the American people.

5:34 p.m.: Shapiro says not only are we not going back, we are not going into the future with Donald Trump.

5:33 p.m.: Shapiro says Trump didn’t know what he was doing when he was president, but he does now and that is serious. Says the Supreme Court “which he has packed” has ruled he is above the law. He talks about Project 2025 and says “they have a clear plan” to take away our freedoms. Shapiro says, “We are not going back,” and the crowd starts chanting “not going back.”

5:29 p.m.: Shapiro is working the crowd. Tells them he is going to pour his heart and soul into being their governor every single day. Gets big-time applause. Says he is going to do everything he can to help Harris and Walz win.

5:28 p.m.: Shapiro tells the crowd he loves being their governor and that gets a loud applause.

5:26 p.m.: Most of the crowd gets on its feet as Shapiro enters. They are fired up and pumping their fists.

5:25 p.m.: As Josh Shapiro takes the stage, the 10,200-seat venue appears to be overflowing.

5:18 p.m. - There’s a drum line marching in and the crowd continues to get hyped up. Lively atmosphere.

5:14 p.m.: “Knuck if you Buck” by Crime Mob was just played and the crowd was getting hyped up. If you appreciate early 2000s Hip Hop, you know the song.

5:11 p.m.: A break in the action here as music plays and we gear up for Kamala Harris to speak.

5:00 p.m.: We are about to go live from the event at 5 p.m. So, if you want to see the live feed, click here.

• Kamala Harris speaks at rally in Philadelphia with VP candidate Tim Walz: Watch live

4:56 p.m.: John Fetterman took the stage briefly. Said the choice was “VP Harris and Gov. Walz? Or some really, really, really, really weird dudes.”

4:50 p.m.: “Put on your Chucks and tie your bowtie,” Parker says. She tells the crowd to hold up their light bracelets, and most glow blue.

4:40 p.m.: Parker tells the crowd: “Our Democratic nominee has spoken, period, end of story. ...The only North Star that should be in all of our hearts, minds and spirits, (is) making sure that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are the next president and vice president of the United States of America.”

PennLive’s live video from the rally will begin around 4:50 p.m.

4:35: Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker takes the stage to sustained and raucous applause, cheering. She’s Philly’s first female mayor.

4:30 p.m.: People are still entering the venue to see the rally as various Democratic Party speakers take the stage to encourage voting, donating, organizing. There is booing as someone mentions Project 2025.

4:30 p.m.: Sign language interpreters are working from platforms.

4:20 p.m.: Jaime Harrison, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, is in the venue.

4:15 p.m.: Harris’ campaign said it has raised more than $10 million from grassroots donations since Walz was announced as the VP candidate this morning.

4 p.m.: Attendees were given LED bracelets (mostly) synchronized to strobe among red, white and blue lights.

4 p.m.: Loretta Savidge, of Paulsberg, New Jersey, said most candidates assume New Jersey will vote Democrat and therefore opt not to campaign there.But Philadelphia’s proximity gave her and Tahje Thomas, a borough councilman for Paulsberg, the opportunity to attend a campaign rally. ”This feels like a relivened campaign,” Thomas said. “There’s lots of energy and excitement.”

3:55 p.m.: Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis is in the venue.

3:30 p.m.: David Snyderman of Flourtown, Pennsylvania, said he would have preferred if Vice President Kamala Harris chose “hometown boy” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as her running mate, but that he’s happy with Walz.

3:05 p.m.: Volunteers said they expect the rally to begin at 5 p.m. Harris is still scheduled to speak at 5:30, so Shapiro will probably address the crowd before that.

3 p.m.: Pennsylvania’s senior senator, Bob Casey, delivered an encouraging if not overwhelmingly enthusiastic reaction to Vice President Kamala Harris’ choice of running mate.

2:30 p.m.: Ben Loughin, of Philadelphia, said he is pleased that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is Harris’ vice presidential pick. “He’s got the right way of approaching — dealing with the opposition,” Loughin said. “I think he’s the real deal.”

2:20 p.m.: It’s pouring rain on the crowd outside.

2 p.m.: Why did Harris choose Walz over Shapiro as her running mate? One theory: He was seen as having the potential to reopen rifts in the Democratic party, mostly because of his positions in the last two years in support of school choice programs and on the Israel/Hamas war.

Sisters Yani and Ayo Ince said they researched Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz this morning and are feeling good about Harris’ choice of running mate. “He hopefully will pose as a magnet towards older white, male members of the Democratic Party or of the left,” as well as centrists, Yani said. They sewed the “Blasians for Kamala” shirts themselves yesterday.

1:30 p.m.: Outside the Harris/Walz event, people are lined up to get in. The rally is in a Temple University sports and concert arena, and the line is wrapped around Geasey Field. The doors will open soon, around 2 p.m.

The rally is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. PennLive will be livestreaming.

Noon: JD Vance, the Republican candidate for vice president, is holding an event in Philadelphia today, too.

Earlier today:

Pa. Gov. Shapiro calls Walz ‘an exceptionally strong addition’ to Democratic ticket

McCormick says Harris, Walz, Casey trio bad for America