With the presidential campaign moving into its urgent final days, Tim Walz returned to his native state Saturday to tell Nebraska voters they can make all the difference this year.
Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris' running mate aggressively made the case against returning Republican Donald Trump to the White House, repeatedly warning the more than 1,500 supporters at Papillion’s SumTur Amphitheater that a second Trump term would be more dangerous than the first.
“The Donald Trump of 2016 is not the Donald Trump that's running now,†Walz said. “He is far more unfit than he was in 2016, he’s more deranged, he's more desperate to keep his butt out of prison than he was in 2016, and he has made sure there's no guardrails.â€
But with 17 days before the end of an election the Minnesota governor acknowledged is extremely close, he expressed confidence the Harris-Walz ticket will prevail in the so-called “blue wall†states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — a scenario that would leave the Democrats just one electoral vote short of the White House.
“One dot makes the difference,†he said, which elicited “Blue Dot!†cheers from the crowd. Walz added: “Omaha: put us over the top, let’s go!â€
Walz was making his second trip the battleground 2nd Congressional District since Harris tapped the Minnesota governor as her vice presidential pick in August.
But while his Aug. 17 trip had served as an opportunity for the West Point native, Chadron State College graduate and former Alliance school teacher and coach to introduce himself to voters in the Omaha area, this time he came in attack dog mode — showing some of the the traits that had first made him so appealing as a running mate to Harris.
Walz, aboard a plane with “Harris-Walz†and “A New Way Forward†emblazoned on the side, touched down at Omaha’s Eppley Airfield at 3:43 p.m. He was accompanied by his daughter, Hope, 23, as he descended the stairs from the plane.
He spent a few minutes chatting with Democratic candidates and party leaders, including Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb, U.S. House candidate Tony Vargas and U.S. Senate candidate Preston Love.Â
Walz then proceeded to the SumTur Amphitheater, where a crowd was waiting holding signs like “Nebraskans for Harris-Walz†and “Coach.â€
He started off by thanking his sister, who lives near Alliance, and other Nebraskans from across the state who had come in for this homecoming.
Early in the speech, he was interrupted by a pro-Palestinian demonstrator who loudly blew a whistle and yelled "stop the genocide" before being whisked off by security. At other times, the chants of about two dozen other pro-Palestinian demonstrators outside the amphitheater could be heard in the background.
Walz touted the Harris economic agenda, saying 100 million Americans would see a tax cut, prescription drug prices would be lower, and those wanting to start new business would receive a tax credit should she become president.
But he trained most of his words on Trump and the risk Walz said the former president poses to the country.
He questioned whether the 78-year-old Trump, who had recently canceled several campaign events, has the stamina to be president again.
“I don’t know how tired he is, but he’s not nearly as exhausted as we are with his crap in the last four years,†Walz said, although Joe Biden, not Trump, has been president in the last four years.
Walz criticized Trump for taking away a woman’s right to abortion by appointing the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. He warned Trump would have an opportunity to appoint more justices if he returns to the White House.
At one point, he made an appeal directly to men on the abortion issue, telling them “the women in your life that you love, your wives, your daughters, your mothers, your friends, all of them, their lives are on the line in this election.â€
Walz also warned Trump’s tariff plan would raise costs for families by $4,000 a year. That cost figure has been disputed.
“China doesn’t pay the tariffs, you pay the tariffs,†Walz said.
Noting that he and Harris are both gun owners, he criticized Republicans for not doing more to protect children from school shootings.
“Owning guns doesn't mean we can’t be for common sense solutions to protect our children,†he said.
And Walz criticized Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, for not being willing say that Trump had lost the 2020 election during the only vice presidential debate this year. It means if Vance had been vice president in 2020 instead of Mike Pence, “they would have overturned the elected government of the United States,†Walz said. “There’s a word for that, it’s called traitor.â€
His message resonated with his largely Democratic audience, who at one point accentuated his words with chants of “We’re not going back.â€
Several voters at the event spoke of urgency they felt to defeat Trump. While wresting most of Nebraska away from Trump is considered highly unlikely, winning the single congressional district that includes Omaha may be within Harris' grasp.
Omaha firefighter and paramedic Kellie Rice was a little incredulous when asked why she called herself “a very strong†Harris supporter.
“Have you seen who she’s running against?†said Rice, wearing a “Blue Dot Bonkers†T-shirt while sitting on the grass berm with her wife.
Erick Tjarks called himself a former Republican who had been a strong supporter of Mitt Romney in 2012. That was before Trump ran and won in 2016.
“And then the landscape changed, and I became a Never Trumper,†he said. “I stick to it. Not everybody did.â€
He and his wife said they are happy to be supporting Harris and Walz and to have a chance to make a difference in the election, eastern Nebraska no longer flyover country because of the state’s system of awarding three of its electoral votes by congressional district.
“I like generally what she stands for, and I think Gov. Walz brings a lot of excitement,†Tjarks said, mentioning the Minnesota governor’s background as a schoolteacher, football coach and member of the National Guard. “He just seems like a really decent person.â€
Others spoke afterwards of how Walz's words had inspired them to work to get others out to vote.Â
“It was really great,†said Jake Jolliffe of Lincoln. “I like his energy and his commitment to Nebraska.â€
Daniel Bodmann of Omaha was also pumped after the rally.
“I love Tim Walz. I love Kamala Harris,†he said. “We need them to protect democracy. It’s the only way.â€
Photos: Democratic VP candidate Tim Walz visits the Omaha metro
Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz holds up a gift of a camouflaged hoodie he received after getting off a plane at Eppley Airfield in Omaha on Saturday. The hoodie was gifted to Gov. Walz by Precious McKesson, Nebraska Democratic Party executive director.
Attendees watch on as Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks at a campaign rally at SumTur Amphitheater in Papillion, on Saturday.