PHILADELPHIA: Kamala Harris’ supporters described renewed energy and optimism for her unprecedented presidential bid during a Philadelphia rally Tuesday, buoyed by a running mate pick that looks set to prolong her honeymoon with voters. Supporters at the arena event in must-win swing state Pennsylvania’s largest city said her choice of moderate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz had given Harris’s campaign to defeat Donald Trump new momentum.

“He appears to be an everyday American, he’s relatable ... his word ‘weird’ has really resonated with the country in a special way. A word as simple as that has really energized the base,” said Carlos Ruiz, 39, a corrections officer who wore a “I’m with her pin.”

Indeed, Walz was propelled to internet notoriety in recent days after calling Trump and his top team “weird”, in remarks that coincided with a narrowing in the polls between Trump and Harris. “Oh my God, (Harris’ campaign) is bringing everybody together,” said rally-goer Joyce Meder, 64, who wore a “childless cat ladies of America” T-shirt, black cat mask and a cape, subverting a sexist jibe made by J D Vance, Trump’s running mate.

“I think this is Martin Luther King’s dream, Trump is his nightmare. I was down here for Hillary (Clinton), but this is even more special because it’s a person of color and it just means we worked hard to get to this point,” Meder added. Aiming to make history as the first woman US president, Harris - already a trailblazer as the first female and first Black and South Asian vice president - has little time before Election Day on November 5. In the stands of Temple University’s arena, an ocean of glowing blue bracelets given to Democratic Party faithful swayed in time to the sounds of Usher, DJ Riel and Mark Ronson as a hype woman whipped up the crowd.

“There’s a lot of energy in here. (America) wasn’t ready for Hillary Clinton but they might be ready now,” said retiree Tony Copper, 61. Outside the Liacouras Center arena, merchandise sellers were not yet offering shirts and pins emblazoned with Walz’s face, as he was unveiled as running mate just hours earlier. One batch of fridge magnets still showed the old Biden-Harris ticket, recalling a time before the race was upended when Biden pulled out. But inside, hoardings and credentials had been seamlessly brought up to date with Harris-Walz branding.

‘Madam President’

“Madam President” T-shirts emblazoned with Harris’s face worn by two rally attendees were a far cry from the offensive slogans that framed the vice-president’s likeness on merchandise at a recent Trump rally elsewhere in Pennsylvania. Harris appeared in slick promotional videos on the arena’s big screens only slightly more than she does in clips shown at Trump rallies where she is derided as a radical leftist. The clips had already been updated to show Walz smiling and waving at unseen crowds.

“A lot of my friends and family are saying there’s a renewed sense of hope and optimism,” said Olivia Osborne, 25, a brand marketing executive. “My family is half Democrat. My Dad used to be a Republican but is now a ‘never-Trump’ kind of Democrat.”

There were some Harris supporters who lamented the choice of Walz, governor of the Midwestern state of Minnesota, over local Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. “I was hoping she was going to pick Josh if she wants to win Pennsylvania,” said Stevens, a taxi driver looking for business outside the rally who declined to give his surname. “But it’s who she wants to govern with,” he said of Walz.

Philadelphia’s mayor Cherelle Parker warned the crowd not to be lukewarm in their embrace of Walz because of their fondness for Shapiro. “Period. That’s it,” she said of Harris’s pick. “The energy is this room is tangible.” Shapiro told the crowd he would “work (his) tail off” to get Harris and Walz elected.

Across town, Vance, for whom the “weird” tag appears to have stuck, held a rally with “Kamala chaos” branding front and center. “I work with J D Vance,” Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman told thousands of Harris backers in the 10,000-capacity arena. Until now Vance was a senator from Ohio. “I can confirm he is a seriously weird dude.” — AFP