“I think we owe it to the American people to tell them exactly what she’d do as president before we ask them for their votes,” Walz, 60, said in his address to the Democratic National Convention.
The pair has come under persistent Republican criticism for not clearly outlining what policies voters can expect under a Harris-Walz administration.
The vice-presidential nominee then proceeded to only vaguely describe four policies, offering scant details about how they would accomplish them.
“So here, this is the part — clip and save it and send it to your undecided relatives, so they know — if you’re a middle-class family, or a family trying to get into the middle class, Kamala Harris is going to cut your taxes,” he claimed.
“If you’re getting squeezed by prescription drug prices, Kamala Harris is going to take on Big Pharma. If you’re hoping to buy a home, Kamala Harris is going to help make it more affordable.
“And no matter who you are, Kamala Harris is going to stand up and fight for your freedom to live the life that you want to lead, because that’s what we want for ourselves and it’s what we want for our neighbors.”
Republican nominee Donald Trump’s campaign hours earlier launched a faux policy page for the Democratic ticket to call attention to the lack of a policy page on their website — in which the former president’s team listed some of Harris’ most controversial past positions.
Trump’s team noted that Harris, 59, previously supported policies to eliminate private health insurance and highlighted her performance as President Biden’s point person on reducing illegal immigration, which instead surged to new record highs in each of the first three years of their administration.
The official Democratic platform was drafted last month before Biden, 81, dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris on July 21 — and party delegates ratified the document this week without updating it to include recent policies mentioned by Harris, such as her controversial plan to impose price controls on groceries.
In a sign of its dated nature, the party platform refers 21 times to Biden’s second term.
Trump’s allies argue that Harris has been a political “chameleon” with shifting positions on major issues, making it difficult for voters to know what they would be getting under her administration.
Meanwhile, Walz went on to emphasize his humble upbringing in his energetic 15-minute speech, as well as his transition from being a high school social studies teacher and football coach to being a member of Congress and then governor.
“I grew up in Butte, Nebraska, a town of 400 people. I had 24 kids in my high school class and none of them went to Yale,” he said — in a jab at Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance, who attended Yale Law School after graduating from Ohio State University.
Meanwhile, Walz went on to emphasize his humble upbringing in his energetic 15-minute speech, as well as his transition from being a high school social studies teacher and football coach to being a member of Congress and then governor.
“But I’ll tell you what, growing up in a small town like that, you learn how to take care of each other … Everybody belongs. And everybody has a responsibility to contribute.”
Walz walked on stage after an introduction from a former student who recalled the future veep nominee pushing his car when it was stuck in the snow and an appearance by former football team members, whom he had led to a state championship.
“It was those players and my students who inspired me to run for Congress. They saw in me what I had hoped to instill in them: a commitment to the common good, an understanding that we’re all in this together and the belief that a single person can make a real difference for their neighbors,” he said.
“So there I was a 40-something high school teacher with little kids, zero political experience and no money running in a deep-red district. But you know what? Never underestimate a public school teacher.”
Walz described himself as a gun owner and expert marksman — saying he had “the trophies to prove it” from congressional shooting contests — and said he has “learned how to compromise without compromising my values.”
He notably skirted the controversy over his incorrect public remarks about his service in the National Guard — including saying in one instance that he served at war, which Vance, an Ohio senator who deployed to Iraq while in the Marine Corps, has denounced as “stolen valor.”
“I joined up two days after my 17th birthday, and I proudly wore our nation’s uniform for 24 years,” Walz said in his address.