‘A part of history’: Thousands cheer Harris and Walz at their debut in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA — The moment Beyonce’s “Freedom” began to play at Temple University’s Liacouras Center, a crowd of thousands of people jumped to its feet and erupted into raucous applause as Vice President Kamala Harris and her newly announced running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, made their way to the stage.

They were welcomed by a diverse crowd of more than 14,000 whose cheers were so loud they often drowned out the candidates. 

The campaign event was the first that Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, and Walz have held together in their bid for the White House. The vice president announced Walz as her running mate just hours before the Philadelphia rally that drew people to the sports arena and the overflow space next door in what was likely the largest campaign event for Harris since she launched her candidacy in July, according to organizers.

From students to retired educators to parents to attorneys, some of whom had traveled long distances, nearly everyone interviewed by the Pennsylvania Independent said they wanted to attend the rally to witness a historic campaign in which the country’s first Black vice president is vying to become the nation’s first female president.

“My mom said that she wanted to be a part of history,” Nicole Mattiacci of Montgomery County said, translating for her mother, Lynette Mattiacci, who speaks using sign language. 

Nicole Mattiacci, a 19-year-old student who’s studying international relations and economics at Mt. Holyoke College in Massachusetts, said she’s especially excited to cast her ballot for Harris and Walz because it will be the first time she’s able to vote in a presidential election. 

“This election is very important to me because now I can actually be a part of the change I’ve been talking about for years,” said Mattiacci, who cited the environment, reproductive rights and economic equity as issues she’s especially passionate about. 

Lynette Mattiacci, who is also from Montgomery County and is deaf, said disability access and reproductive rights are two of her biggest concerns in the coming election.

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president, has mocked people with disabilities and reportedly told his nephew that they should die because it’s too expensive to care for them.

Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices who were members of the court’s right-wing majority that overturned Roe v. Wade. The former president has repeatedly bragged about his role in ending the country’s constitutional right to abortion. 

“I have two daughters, so I’m worried about equity and access and rights,” Lynette Mattiacci said through her daughter. “So these two are more knowledgeable of what we stand for, and they’re more able to get what we’re looking for as women, as disabled people.”

Harris and Walz are both staunch advocates of disability and reproductive rights. Walz signed a bill that enshrined the right to reproductive freedom in the Minnesota Constitution in 2023, and the pair vowed during the rally to restore abortion rights nationwide. 

“In Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and their personal choices that they make,” Walz said. “Even if we wouldn’t make the same choice for ourselves, there’s a golden rule: Mind your own damn business.” 

The governor’s reference to abortion prompted some of the loudest responses from a crowd energized by two candidates who shared personal stories that frequently had audience members jumping to give a standing ovation as well as wiping away tears.

Walz shared his family’s own struggles with infertility and said he and his wife, Gwen, went through years of in vitro fertilization treatments before Gwen became pregnant with their daughter. 

“It wasn’t by chance that, when we welcomed our daughter into the world, we named her Hope,” he said.

GOP lawmakers have gone after IVF in recent months, and in June Senate Republicans blocked legislation that would have guaranteed access to in vitro fertilization for people nationwide. 

Harris lauded her running mate and described a man who served in the National Guard for 24 years, taught social studies for two decades, was a high school football coach, and was voted the “most inspiring faculty member” by students at Mankato West High School in southern Minnesota. She praised Walz, who represented Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District for six terms before being elected governor, for protecting unions, voting in favor of the Affordable Care Act, and being the faculty adviser to his school’s first gay-straight alliance.  

“At a time when acceptance was difficult to find for LGBTQ students, Tim knew the signal that it would send to have a football coach get involved,” Harris said as the crowd roared in approval. 

“As I think everyone here can see, Tim Walz was the kind of teacher and mentor that every child in America dreams of having and that every kid deserves, the kind of coach, because he’s the kind of person who makes people feel like they belong and then inspires them to dream big,” Harris continued. “And that’s the kind of vice president he will be — and that’s the kind of vice president America deserves.”

Rally attendees praised Harris and Walz for their support for public education, veterans and the environment. 

“It will be good for education,” Margie Swoboda, a retired educator and the current chair of the Centre County Democratic Committee, said of a Harris-Walz ticket. “We live in a college town, and education is at the forefront of everyone there, so we’re kind of excited about that.”

Penn State is located in Centre County.

Swoboda added that she hopes a Harris-Walz administration would focus on job creation, especially in more rural communities like hers, and rural health care: “We need job growth, and I think this ticket will help provide for that. We are also losing medical facilities. We need rural hospitals. … We are hemorrhaging our hospitals right now.” 

Alexa Quiñones, a 26-year-old law student from Philadelphia, said the Harris-Walz campaign is giving her hope that political change is possible.

“I think, for my generation and younger, we are so indifferent to politics because we feel like nothing’s going to change and nothing matters, and it doesn’t matter if you vote or not,” Quiñones said. “When you see this opportunity, it gives people a little bit of hope that maybe things can change.”