Vice President Kamala Harris has selected her presidential running mate after days of intense speculation following President Biden’s unprecedented decision to drop out of the presidential race last month, The Hill reports.

Harris has selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who is currently in the middle of his second term after he was first elected in 2018. Prior to his time in the governor’s mansion, Walz represented Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District from 2007 through 2019.

Walz was in office during the Black Lives Matter riots in 2020, which began in Minneapolis before spreading throughout the nation. Before a trial had occurred, Walz condemned Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin and said the infamous video of his encounter with George Floyd was “disturbing.”

“The lack of humanity in this disturbing video is sickening. We will get answers and seek justice,” he said at the time. Chauvin was ultimately convicted of murder — after nationwide riots that killed more than 20 people and caused billions of dollars in property damage — though the trial has become a subject of intense controversy.

Hundreds of pages of sworn testimony from Hennepin County prosecutors have now revealed that prosecutors acknowledged the “extreme pressure” to prosecute Derrick Chauvin and three additional former Minneapolis police officers. According to a report from Alpha News, multiple employees of the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, including a prosecutor, withdrew after stating that the pressure to charge the other three officers involved, “violated professional and ethical rules.”

free hat

While on the campaign trail for Vice President Harris, Walz has referred to former President Donald Trump as a “fascist” who cannot be allowed to gain power.

“These guys are just weird. That’s who they are. So, it isn’t much else. Don’t give them the power,” Walz told a crowd of Democratic voters just days after former President Trump was nearly assassinated at a rally in western Pennsylvania.

“Look, are they a threat to democracy? Yes. Are they going to take our rights away? Yes. Are they going to put people’s lives in danger? Yes. Are they going to endanger the planet by not dealing with climate change? Yes. They’re going to do all that, but don’t lift these guys up like they’re sometimes heroes,” he continued.

“Everybody in this room knows, I know it as a teacher, a bully has no self-confidence. A bully has no strength. They have nothing. The fascists depend on fear. The fascists depend on us going back. But we’re not afraid of weird people. We’re a little bit creeped out, but we’re not afraid.”

While continuously labeling everyone to his right as “weird” and “fascist,” Walz has described President Biden as “one of the most highly effective presidents we’ve ever seen.”

“I’ve been waiting for infrastructure week. I spent last weekend on Macon Island with Whitmer, because this is not a debate about Joe Biden’s age or experience. It’s about a debate about protecting the democracy,” Walz said last August while pushing back on questions surrounding Biden’s age and cognitive ability.

The Walz pick comes just days after Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro was widely believed to be the pick. Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker had tweeted and quickly deleted a video in support of the “Harris-Shapiro” campaign, causing betting odds to soar.

Shapiro had drawn ire from the party’s progressive faction due to his past support of Israel and service in the IDF, however.

Starting with Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Harris and Walz plan on attending every battleground state in the nation over the next several days. Several polls have found the race tightening significantly since President Biden stepped aside, with some even showing Harris ahead after weeks of Trump dominance.