Action News anchor Brian Taff's full interview with VP nominee Gov. Tim Walz
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz is in the midst of a three-day, five-state swing looking to peel away any votes possible in places where, right now, this election is a dead heat.
As he makes the case for himself and Kamala Harris, he sat down with Action News anchor Brian Taff for a candid conversation about the state of this race.
Walz is leaving no ground left untouched, working in these final weeks to shore up support among groups that until recently have been reliably Democratic voters.
This year, with shifting political allegiances, nothing can be taken for granted.
His outreach to unions in Michigan on Friday comes as the Harris-Walz ticket also faces headwinds from men. Donald Trump is making inroads in his outreach to those voters.
READ MORE: Gov. Tim Walz weighs in on Biden's term when pressed during interview on 'Good Morning America'
"Why do you suppose his overtures are landing? And what is your message to men, maybe especially to Black men here in the Greater Philadelphia area that they should support your ticket?" asked Taff.
"Well, first of all, I think it's because the policies are aimed at the middle class. Opportunities, whether it's home ownership, the ability to get good paying jobs, Donald Trump's not presenting anything. If you look at his economic plan, it's more tax cuts for the wealthy. I think we need to make sure we're getting out to them. We hear what they're saying. We understand that their concern with issues, whether it's climate, or health care, or reproductive rights, men care about that too," said Walz.
Walz and Harris have made moving forward and moving on from Donald Trump a principal theme of their campaign. But with November now quickly approaching, there are questions about how deeply that message is resonating.
A new ABC News/Ipsos poll shows that three-quarters of Americans want a Harris-Walz administration to take the country in a new direction, but a majority doubt it will.
"How specifically do you turn the page, that's the case you're making about turning the page, on an administration that a, Vice President Harris is a part of, and that b, as recently as this week, she has been reluctant to criticize or say she would change anything about," asked Taff.
"The difference between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, Donald Trump taking health care, taking reproductive rights, tax cuts to the wealthiest. And I think Kamala Harris laid out this week I think for many of your viewers the idea of Medicare expanding out to include home health care, to include vision, to include hearing for a large proportion of the population. That is transformational. Right now, the difference between Kamala Harris and Joe Biden is not what they need to be concerned with. They need to be concerned with a Donald Trump who has said he would be a dictator on day one, said he would do a national abortion ban, said he would give tax cuts to the wealthiest," said Walz.
And as both campaigns sprint to the finish in what's become a game of inches, the focus is on just that making clear the contrast.
"What's the one thing that you would want voters across the country, but really especially here in Pennsylvania, to hear from you? The closing argument, if you will, from your campaign?" asked Taff.
"Well, Kamala Harris wants to be president for all Americans. Donald Trump has made it clear it's in it for him, his own self-interest. We've seen him reckless on the world stage. And I think for most Americans they're tired of the division, they're tired of being at each other's throats over political issues when there's so many of these things that we can agree on. Let us earn your vote. Get out there on November 5th, and let's move in a new direction," said Walz.
Action News caught up with Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance last month during his visit to Pennsylvania. You can watch the full coverage below.
