• After much deliberation, Vice President Kamala Harris announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate on Tuesday. The two debuted together later that evening at a joint rally in Pennsylvania. Walz, who’s nearing the end of his second term as Minnesota’s governor, describes himself as moderate. But during his time in office, he’s signed some major progressive legislation into law, like protecting access to abortion and gender-affirming care, expanding gun control, and guaranteeing paid family leave. Larry Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota, explains what Walz brings to the Democratic ticket.
• And in headlines: Hamas named the architect of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel as its new leader, stock markets rebounded after multiple days of losses, and Team USA’s Gabby Thomas took home her first gold medal with a win in the women’s 200-meter race.

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TRANSCRIPT

Priyanka Aribindi: It’s Wednesday, August 7th. I’m Priyanka Aribindi.

Juanita Tolliver: And I’m Juanita Tolliver and this is What a Day, the show where we’re learning how a midwestern dad and football coach reacts to a crowd of 10,000 people. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Pretty well, if you ask me. I mean, that felt like a pep rally. 

Juanita Tolliver: Yeah, he was really into it. So much so that when he was cheering for the vice president, we could hear him on the mics. I need him to learn mics, and I also knew him to not turn his back to cameras. We got a good start, though. 

Priyanka Aribindi: It’s refreshing. He’s a real person. He does real people things. [music break]

Juanita Tolliver: On today’s show, Hamas appoints the architect of the October 7th attack as its new leader. Plus, Google search violates U.S. antitrust law. 

Priyanka Aribindi: But first, after much deliberation, Vice President Kamala Harris has picked Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to be her running mate. If we sound excited, it is because–

[spoken together] We are! 

Priyanka Aribindi: The vibes are very high around here. It’s like full of excitement. The two made their debut together at a joint rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday. 

[clip of Tim Walz] Thank you, Madam Vice President, for the trust you put in me, but maybe more so thank you for bringing back the joy. [cheers]

Juanita Tolliver: I love his emphasis on joy, because this is one thing that Trump and Republicans have been trying to attack specifically related to Vice President Harris’s laugh. She is a happy person. She likes to laugh. And also that’s what energizes and mobilizes voters. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Yeah, they are having fun out there. It is totally energizing, as you said, to watch them. It’s infectious really. 

Juanita Tolliver: Walz is nearing the end of his second term as Minnesota’s governor. While he describes himself as a moderate, Walz was the candidate progressives hoped Harris would pick. Part of the reason is because of some major Democratic priorities he’s signed into law as governor, like protecting access to abortion and gender affirming care, gun control, and paid family leave. He’s also a veteran, a former high school teacher, and served 12 years in Congress, representing a swing district that Donald Trump won by 15 points in 2016. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Yeah, that is wildly, wildly impressive. But aside from that track record, he is also an incredibly personable–

Juanita Tolliver: Yeah. 

Priyanka Aribindi: —funny person and really, really effective at sort of landing these lines against Republicans. During an interview with MSNBC’s Morning Joe a few weeks back, he referred to Republicans as weird, which went super viral has since been echoed by so many people, including the Harris campaign. And, you know, the hits keep coming. 

Juanita Tolliver: Now we see that weird attack everywhere. We know Trump and Republicans hate it, and the people respond to it. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Definitely. And just last night, he did it again in his rally with Harris. They were discussing reproductive rights, which are a critical point that they and Democrats nationwide are campaigning on. He distilled the message so simply. 

[clip of Tim Walz] In Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and their personal choices that they make. Even if we wouldn’t make the same choice for ourselves. There’s a golden rule. Mind your own damn business. [cheers]

Priyanka Aribindi: Put it everywhere. 

Juanita Tolliver: I want a sign. I want a hat. I want a t shirt. Like, because–

Priyanka Aribindi: Yes! 

Juanita Tolliver: This message resonates no matter where you live. I know growing up in the South– 

Priyanka Aribindi: Totally. 

Juanita Tolliver: –it was absolutely about mind your business. 

Priyanka Aribindi: I think it’s a line we will see a lot of places. I really hope that’s what happens. To get to know more about Governor Walz and what he is bringing to the ticket, I spoke earlier with Larry Jacobs. He is the director of the center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota, and the author of the book Democracy Under Fire: Donald Trump and the Breaking of American History. I started by asking him why he thought Harris bypassed some other big name candidates from swing states, like Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, to choose Governor Walz. 

Larry Jacobs: I think he won people over, in part because it’s a great contrast with JD Vance, and he really is authentic. He was a social studies teacher not that long ago. He was in the National Guard for a good part of his life. He was a football coach and that is him genuinely and coming to politics mid career, he’s not a careerist. He talks to people. He engages with people as a human being. And I think that was something that set him apart. The other part is unlike Josh Shapiro, Tim Walz has worked in Washington for a dozen years as a member of Congress, and he passed legislation, and this is very important. He then pursued its implementation by working inside the bureaucracy in Washington. That is a real skill set. And I mentioned that is important because Tim Walz is going to hit the ground running if Kamala Harris wins. As a governing partner he knows how the place works. And so I think the fact that Tim Walz is able to step into the role, that he’s familiar with Washington, he knows how it works. That’s going to be a big plus. And that Harris team valued that. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Given Minnesota’s recent history, as you know, a Democratic state, Walz doesn’t seem to expand the electoral map for Harris in the same way that maybe Shapiro or even possibly Senator Kelly would, you know, what does he bring to the ticket? You know, aside from that, do you think? 

Larry Jacobs: Well, I actually don’t think the evidence suggests that the vice president does a whole lot electorally for the president. I mean, if you think about each of the modern presidents, they’ve been looking more for ideological compatibility and personal chemistry. And I think that’s what we’ve seen. Both Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are pragmatic progressives. They want to push the envelope, but they want to succeed, and they don’t want to alienate the critical bloc of voters. Um. And that’s what Tim Walz has been up to. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Certainly a very personable person as well. He’s gained a lot of popularity, especially on the internet in the past few weeks with the weird comments. Tell us a little bit more about what Governor Walz is like as a person. 

Larry Jacobs: Not long ago, I was walking my dog down along the Mississippi, and there’s Governor Walz walking along with his two dogs. You know, we’re friendly, but not friends. And yeah, there we are. We end up talking for 20 minutes, and it’s very pleasant. You will see him at agricultural events. We have something in Minnesota called Farm Fest, and he shows up in a t shirt and a farmer’s hat, and will spend you know a lot of time just shaking hands, talking to farmers. And they’ll say, I didn’t vote for him. I probably won’t vote for him, but I like him. And he he was elected to Congress in a kind of a conservative, Republican leaning area in the south east corner of the state. And the way he first started to run is he just started visiting cafes and he wouldn’t introduce himself as, hi, I’m Tim Walz, I’m running for Congress. He would say, what’s on your mind? And so he’s got that kind of genuine interest in people. 

Priyanka Aribindi: I want to talk about his time as the governor of Minnesota. He’s halfway through his second term currently, he’s been able to accomplish a lot with Democrats in control of the state House and the Senate. So what have some of his signature accomplishments been and what do you think impressed Vice President Harris and her team about him? 

Larry Jacobs: Well, he has been one of the most progressive governors in the state after the progressives won the House and Senate. Um. And he’s been able to kind of steer that energy in a constructive direction, even though the majority they have in the Senate is just one seat. So it’s taken a lot of skill to do that. But, you know, it includes some very significant legislation aimed at lower and middle income Americans, a statewide child income credit, paid family leave. He provides free meals for all children. And when he’s been criticized, he’s asked Republicans, do you think children should go to school hungry? So he’s been very smart about that. He’s been very uh supportive of the efforts to make abortion legal in Minnesota. He’s been really up front on that since the beginning, and that’s obviously a high priority for Kamala Harris. 

Priyanka Aribindi: By all accounts, as you said, he seems like a very, you know, intensely personable person, very smart and astute on messaging. But where do you think Governor Walz could be vulnerable to Republican attacks, which they almost certainly I think they’ve already started. 

Larry Jacobs: Well, you know, there’s been a lot of criticism of Kamala Harris for being ultra liberal, and there’s been criticism of her for being weak on the border and in various ways, Governor Walz is going to reinforce those criticisms because he has just passed a really remarkable set of progressive bills, increasing spending by over 40%. That’s going to reinforce the Republican criticism about liberalism run amok. He’s also passed legislation that allowed undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses, and that will certainly be grabbed by Republicans and conservatives as evidence that he, too, is weak on the border and illegal immigration. There is certainly going to be, you know, opportunities to double down on these criticisms. But again, I think very quickly, the campaign is going to move on to Trump versus Kamala Harris. And and we won’t be talking about the VP candidates. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Definitely. I want to talk a little bit more about Ohio Senator JD Vance, who’s the Republican nominee for vice president. He’s proven himself over the past couple weeks to be a questionable pick, has the potential to really distract from the campaign. What does Walz need to do here to kind of not do that? 

Larry Jacobs: Well, I think Tim Walz is going to remain who Tim Waltz is. He’s not going to be someone who is overstepping his skis. He will be a team player on the ticket. I don’t think we’re going to see him, you know, rushing for the national stage. My hunch is that Kamala Harris will use him to take on particular groups of voters. You know, for instance, Minnesota has the highest per capita population of Somalis, while Kamala Harris needs to mobilize and mend fences with Arab American voters in the state of Michigan if they’re going to carry that state. I could very easily see Tim Waltz being designated as the tickets ambassador to those voters. And he has in Minnesota found ways to show respect, to listen, to respond, and build those relationships. 

Priyanka Aribindi: That was my conversation with Larry Jacobs, director of the center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota. 

Juanita Tolliver: That’s the latest for now. We’ll get to some headlines in a moment, but if you like our show, make sure to subscribe and share with your friends. We’ll be back after some ads. [music break]

[AD BREAK] 

Juanita Tolliver: Let’s wrap up with some headlines. 

[sung] Headlines. 

Juanita Tolliver: Hamas named Yahya Sinwar as its new leader on Tuesday following the assassination of the group’s former political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in Iran. Sinwar has served as Hamas’s top official in Gaza since 2017, and he’s credited with planning the October 7th attack on Israel that left more than 1200 people dead. Israel has targeted Sinwar and other Hamas officials in recent weeks amid the country’s assault on Gaza, where the Palestinian death toll has surpassed 39,000. Israeli defense officials released a statement on Tuesday saying that they would continue to pursue Sinwar. A spokesperson for Hamas told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that Sinwar will continue cease fire talks with Israel. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Stock markets went back up on Tuesday after days of losses, including the S&P 500’s worst loss since 2022. The major sell offs in the last few days came in response to a weak jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday. The report was significantly worse than expected, causing global markets to plummet. Steven Blitz, chief U.S. economist at the economic research company TS Lombard, said in a note to clients, quote, “no recession today, but one is increasingly inevitable by year end if the fed fails to act.” Donald Trump and other Republicans are already casting the blame on Democratic nominee Kamala Harris as they attempt to slow her campaign’s growing momentum. Okay, make it make any amount of sense. 

Juanita Tolliver: Can’t. Doesn’t. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Meanwhile, experts cite interest rates and a weak Japanese economy as the main factors in the recent economic downturn. 

Juanita Tolliver: U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled Monday that Google search has violated U.S. antitrust law. Google has spent tens of billions of dollars on exclusive contracts with companies like Apple, where they essentially pay potential competitors not to challenge them. Those contracts have allowed them to prevent rivals from creating other search engines. RIP Ask Jeeves if you remember that throwback, you know?

Priyanka Aribindi: Miss that guy. 

Juanita Tolliver: Google has an 89.2% market share for general search services, and 94.9% on mobile devices. The lawsuit opens the door for further legal proceedings to find solutions, one of which could include breaking up Google’s parent company, Alphabet. Alphabet plans to appeal the ruling. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Wow. Okay. Definitely something we will continue to watch. This is a big, big deal. 

Juanita Tolliver: Yes it is. 

Priyanka Aribindi: And finally, for your daily dose of Olympic news from your favorite Olympic correspondents. 

Juanita Tolliver: Dun dun dun.

Priyanka Aribindi: Just here in the U.S., they didn’t send us to Paris, but it’s still a few days. Team USA’s Gabby Thomas took home her first gold medal on Tuesday after she won the women’s 200 meter race. It was electric. 

Juanita Tolliver: Phenomenal. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Thomas previously won bronze in the same event at the 2020 Tokyo Games, but she made it clear that she came to Paris this year to win with a finish time of 21.83 seconds. On the soccer field, the U.S. women’s soccer team secured their spot in this week’s final. The team beat Germany in a semifinal match on Tuesday, and will face off with Brazil for the gold medal on Saturday. And in basketball, the U.S. men’s team won their quarterfinal game against Brazil, earning them a spot in the semifinals. In the meantime, though, we are looking forward to the Olympic debut of breakdancing, which is scheduled for Friday. I’m personally also looking forward to a bunch of track relays. 

Juanita Tolliver: Yes! 

Priyanka Aribindi: That will be really fun for me. 

Juanita Tolliver: Yes, four by 100 in particular. Also, Priyanka, with all these sports, all these beautiful sports, we got track, we got soccer, we got basketball and breakdancing. Which one do you think you could perform best? Just like walking in off the street. What do you think? 

Priyanka Aribindi: Walking in off the street, I think it has to be running. It seems like the only one I actually can do. 

Juanita Tolliver: Bless. Okay. 

Priyanka Aribindi: But I do think with some time and training. 

Juanita Tolliver: What? What? 

Priyanka Aribindi: Maybe it could be breakdancing. I don’t know.

Juanita Tolliver: Come on. I knew you were going to say that. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Right? 

Juanita Tolliver: I know you got rhythm. I know you got a bounce to you. Let’s go. Let’s go.

Priyanka Aribindi: It could be fun. 

Juanita Tolliver: [laugh] And those are the headlines. 

Priyanka Aribindi: What about you? What about you? 

Juanita Tolliver: Oh, no. We’re moving on [laughing] and those are the head- [laughing]

Priyanka Aribindi: Juanita said absolutely no. 

Juanita Tolliver: I appreciate your confidence, though, because that was great. With some training. 

Priyanka Aribindi: With some training, I could maybe do it. 

Juanita Tolliver: And those are the headlines. 

[AD BREAK]

Priyanka Aribindi: If you like the show, make sure you subscribe. Leave a review. Break out your Minnesota Hot Dish recipe. 

Juanita Tolliver: Yes! 

Priyanka Aribindi: And tell your friends to listen. 

Juanita Tolliver: And if you’re into reading and not just reports of Judges enforcing antitrust law like me, What a Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at Crooked.com/Subscribe. I’m Juanita Tolliver.

Priyanka Aribindi: I’m Priyanka Aribindi.

[spoken together] And Minnesota Nice 2024. 

Juanita Tolliver: Okay, I googled hot dish. I am ecstatic okay one I need it with no cheese. But it looks really, really great. It looks really fun. Like put it on like a tray of chili with some, like corn dogs in the middle and then the tots on top. Thumbs up. I’m excited. [music break] What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It’s recorded and mixed by Bill Lancz. Our associate producer is Raven Yamamoto. We had production help today from Michell Eloy, Tyler Hill, Greg Walters, and Julia Claire. Our showrunner is Erica Morrison, and our executive producer is Adriene Hill. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka. 

[AD BREAK]