Tim Walz made startling revelation to Kamala Harris' vetting team before becoming her running mate

WASHINGTON, DC: Democratic vice president pick Tim Walz reportedly told Kamala Harris' vetting team that he has never used a teleprompter before and asked them for a crash course on using the device if selected.

Harris chose the Minnesota Governor as her running mate during a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday, July 6, announcing that he is "the kind of vice-president America deserves".

Tim Walz told Kamala Harris' vetting team he's never used teleprompter

Tim Walz told Kamala Harris' vetting team that he has never used a teleprompter and doesn’t even own one, CNN reported. He added that if he was the pick, the team would have to get him a teleprompter and teach him how to use it.

However, Walz was good enough to crack the vetting process and become the new Democratic VP pick. He outshined Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly during the vetting process.

Walz accepted the offer on Tuesday, August 6, and called it the "honor of a lifetime", before adding, "Vice President Harris is showing us the politics of what’s possible. It reminds me a bit of the first day of school."

During the Philadelphia rally, Harris said, "He’s the kind of person who makes people feel like they belong and then inspires them to dream big. That’s the kind of vice president he will be. And that’s the kind of president America deserves."

Walz took a jibe at GOP opponent JD Vance and said, "I gotta tell you, I can’t wait to debate the guy. That is if he’s willing to get off the couch and show up."

He received positive receptions throughout the day and earned warm endorsements that spanned across the ideological expanse of the Democratic coalition.

Walz also faced criticism from Republicans. Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said, "Walz is obsessed with spreading California’s dangerously liberal agenda far and wide. If Walz won’t tell voters the truth, we will: just like Kamala Harris, Tim Walz is a dangerously liberal extremist, and the Harris-Walz California dream is every American’s nightmare."

Tim Walz's early life and career

Democratic VP pick Tim Walz established himself as a moderate Democrat in Congress where he served as a representative for Minnesota from 2007 to 2019. He currently serves as the Governor of Minnesota, a role he has held since 2019, and is also the chair of the National Democratic Governors Association, Forbes reported.

He had earlier served in the Army National Guard, and then worked as a teacher on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota and later as a high school teacher in Mankato, Minnesota, south of Minneapolis.

Walz’s political accomplishments as a governor are ensuring tuition-free meals at participating state universities, enshrining abortion rights into state law, banning conversion therapy, and providing protections for gender-affirming healthcare, Forbes mentioned.