Among the crowd of more than 15,000 at Desert Diamond Arena — which newly minted vice presidential candidate Tim Walz claimed was the biggest gathering for a political rally in state history — was a who’s who of state and local politics.
Speeches were given by Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, Tempe Mayor Corey Woods and Mesa Mayor John Giles, the latter of whom heads Arizona Republicans for Harris. U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton spoke, as did U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is running for a Senate seat. They gave way to Sen. Mark Kelly, who just days ago was among the finalists for Walz's new job. Kelly was joined on stage by his wife, former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords.
Among the crowd, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Attorney General Kris Mayes chatted, while state Reps. Lorena Austin and Quantá Crews danced to Charlie XCX. Congressional candidate Raquel Terán joined a dance circle — and had her own moment in the middle — among union organizers near the stage.
But while the main attraction was Harris, the current vice president-turned-presidential candidate, it was her running mate who got all the laughs. The Minnesota governor had not enjoyed much of a national profile before joining the ticket but won over an Arizona crowd that not long ago may have been rooting for Kelly to secure his slot.
Kim Goldberg of Queen Creek — one of many attendees wearing cat ears in reference to GOP vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance’s “childless cat ladies” comments — said she liked Walz’s background as a former teacher, military veteran and congressman. “He’s very like salt-of-the-earth and he seems very genuine,” Goldberg said. Jerrod York of Mesa agreed. “Walz is like a dad. Someone I can look up to,” he said.
He's also someone with whom they can make fun of Republicans. As he has since joining the race, the 60-year-old Walz lobbed jab after jab and zinger after zinger at Republicans and their standard bearers, former President Donald Trump and Vance. And the audience ate it up.
Here were Walz’s most notable quips.
Walz: You know, it's not as if anybody cares about crowd sizes or anything. pic.twitter.com/ML1XXGfRqY
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 10, 2024
1. A crowd-measuring contest
“You might have seen, a few people showed up in Philadelphia the other night. And then 10,000 plus walked into a field in western Wisconsin. And then on Wednesday, the largest crowd of the campaign showed up in Detroit, Michigan. But Arizona just couldn’t leave it alone, could ya? It’s not as if anybody cares about crowd sizes or anything.”In a press conference on Thursday, Trump lashed out at a reporter who asked about the large crowds coming out to see Harris. As Walz referenced, the Harris campaign has drawn throngs of people to its events in recent days.
“Oh, give me a break,” Trump told a reporter. “I’ve spoken to the biggest crowds. Nobody’s spoken to crowds bigger than me.”
That clearly hit a nerve, and Walz knew how to poke it.
2. She who would not be named
“We get a twofer with Ruben as we know who is never going to be a U.S. senator.”Kari Lake, who’ll probably never be governor, either.
3. It’s a dry heat, Tim
“I’m a Minnesotan. I’m like a damn snowman; I’m melting out here.”Walz commended the crowd for coming out to the rally — or really going anywhere — amid an Arizona summer that’s been hotter than usual. Luckily, the campaign did provide eventgoers with bottles of cold water, popsicles and ice cream while they were waiting to enter the arena, according to several attendees.
4. Law and order
“Violent crime was up under Donald Trump, and we don’t even have to count his crimes in that.”Walz knows how to set up a punchline. Republicans like to peddle the idea that violent crime is up under President Joe Biden, but it is not. What is true is that Trump has faced a flurry of indictments and was convicted of 34 felonies earlier this year concerning hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels.
5. Target practice
“I remind my colleagues, when I was in Congress — Ruben can tell the story — for three years in a row, I was the top gun in the congressional trap shoot, so we can shoot better than them, too.”Despite his “F” rating from the National Rifle Association, Walz is a proud gun owner — and seemingly a good shot. He said he believes in the Second Amendment, but he “also believes in common sense gun violence laws.”
6. Weirdos
“These guys come up with the weirdest damn ideas that you’ll ever imagine.”Did we mention Vance’s childless cat ladies comments? Walz, who will likely be facing off Vance in vice presidential debates, can largely take credit for making the “Republicans are weird” refrain a thing.
