Tim Walz’s speech at the DNC impressed me

Tim Walz spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August, and his speech gave me hope that everything would eventually turn out right in the near future. 

Two months ago, Joe Biden, our current president and Democratic Party candidate, and Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, had their first debate on June 27. 

After watching the debate, I began to worry more and more each day about how Biden might lose this election and how Trump, our former president who was convicted of 34 felonies in June, might actually win.

The fear of a Trump victory I have comes from the fact that in the past year, he has been indicted of 88 felonies — the most indictments a former president of the United States has ever received. During his presidential term, many of the policies he created negatively impacted many Americans.

After the debate and into July, Democratic Party members and voters started calling on Biden to drop out of the presidential race, stating that he was not cognitively ready and that they, like me, feared that he would lose the election. However, Biden still insisted for weeks that he would remain the Democratic Party candidate.

Nevertheless, on July 21, Biden decided to withdraw, stating that it was “in the best interest of my party and the country,” and endorsed his Vice President, Kamala Harris, to receive the party’s nomination. After this, Harris quickly gained support from the Democrats and revealed that she was running with Walz, governor of Minnesota and former social studies teacher, as her vice president.

  Even though many people were supporting Harris, many polls and even I still feared that this year’s election might end with Democrats losing. However, this fear of the Democratic loss wasn’t very long-lasting for me when I heard Walz’s DNC speech. 

During his speech, Walz endorsed Harris and stated how Harris would help create a brighter future for young Americans.

“She has never hesitated to reach across that aisle if it meant improving your lives,” exclaimed Walz when explaining Harris’ achievements in her 30-year political career. 

Although Walz had multiple great moments during his speech, the one that truly got me supporting him was when he started talking about his family and all the struggles they have gone through. 

As someone who knows and has a lot of close ones who struggle with mental disabilities, when he talked with pride about his son with a non-verbal learning disorder, Gus, I felt for the first time truly seen by a politician. 

As a new and upcoming voter, Walz’s speech has gained my support and I wish him the best of luck in this upcoming election.