Tim Walz’s DNC Speech: Full Transcript and Video

MInnesota Gov. Tim Walz accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for vice president on Wednesday at the DNC in Chicago, where he cited his background as a teacher and coach to rally support for the woman at the top of his ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Read more: ‘Never Underestimate a Public School Teacher’: Key Moments From Tim Walz’s DNC Speech

The following transcript was prepared and provided to TIME by Rev using AI-driven software. It has been reviewed and edited for accuracy by TIME staff.

Wow. Thank you. First of all, thank you to Vice President Harris. Thank you for your confidence in me and for inviting me to be part of this incredible campaign. And thank you to President Joe Biden for four years of strong, historic leadership.

It is an honor for me to accept your nomination for Vice President of the United States.

We are all here tonight for one beautiful, simple reason: we love this country.

So thank you to all of you here in Chicago and to all of you watching at home tonight. Thank you for your passion. Thank you for your determination. And most of all, thank you for bringing joy to this fight.

I grew up in Butte, Nebraska, a small town of 400 people. I had 24 kids in my high school class, and none of them went to Yale. But I’ll tell you what: When you grow up in a small town like that, you learn how to take care of each other. That family down the street, they may not think like you, they may not pray like you, they may not love you like you, but they’re your neighbors, and you take care of them, and they take care of you.

Everyone belongs and everyone has a responsibility to contribute. For me, that was serving in the Army National Guard. I enlisted two days after my 17th birthday and proudly wore our country’s uniform for 24 years. My father, an Army veteran of the Korean War, died a few years later of lung cancer, leaving behind a mountain of medical debt. Thank God for Social Security survivor benefits. And thank God for the GI Bill, which made it possible for my father and me to go to college, like millions of other Americans.

Eventually, like the rest of my family, I fell in love with teaching. Three out of four of us married teachers. I eventually became a social studies teacher and coached football at Mankato West High School. Go Scarlets!

We had a 4-4 defense, we played to the whistle on every play, and we even won a state championship. Never close the yearbook, folks. But it was those players and my students who inspired me to run for Congress. They saw in me what I hoped to bring to them: a dedication to the common good, an understanding that we are all in this together, and a belief that one person can make a real difference for their neighbors.

So there I was: a 40-something high school teacher with little kids, zero political experience, and no money, running in a deep red district. But you know what? Never underestimate a public school teacher. Ever.

I represented my neighbors in Congress for 12 years, and I learned so much. I learned how to work across the aisle on issues like growing the rural economy and taking care of veterans. And I learned how to compromise without compromising my values. Then I came back to run for governor, and we immediately got to work making a difference in the lives of our neighbors.

We cut taxes for the middle class. We introduced paid family and medical leave. We invested in anti-crime and affordable housing. We lowered the cost of prescription drugs and helped people escape the kind of medical debt that nearly destroyed my family. And we made sure every child in our state had breakfast and lunch every day. So while other states are banning books from their schools, we’re banning hunger from our schools.

We also protected reproductive freedom, because in Minnesota we respect our neighbors and the personal choices they make. And even if we didn’t make those same choices for ourselves, we have a golden rule: Mind your own damn business.

And that includes IVF and fertility treatments. And this is personal for Gwen and me. If you’ve never been through the hell of infertility, I’m sure you know someone who has. And I remember praying every night for a phone call: the knot in your stomach when the phone rang, and the absolute agony of hearing that the treatments hadn’t worked. It took years for Gwen and I, but we had access to fertility treatments, and when our daughter was born, we named her Hope.

Hope, Gus and Gwen, you are my whole world and I love you.

I’ll tell you how we started a family, because that’s an important part of this election: freedom.

When Republicans use the word “freedom,” they mean that the government should be free to invade your doctor’s office. Corporations – free to pollute your air and water. And banks – free to take advantage of customers. But when we Democrats talk about freedom, we mean the freedom to create a better life for yourself and the people you love. The freedom to make your own decisions about health care. And yes, the freedom for your children to go to school without worrying about being shot in the hallway.

Look, I know all about guns. I’m a veteran. I’m a hunter. And I was a better shot than most Republicans in Congress, and I have the trophies to prove it. But I’m also a father. I believe in the Second Amendment, but I also believe that our first responsibility is to keep our children safe.

That’s what it’s all about: the responsibility we have towards our children, each other and the future we are building together, in which everyone has the freedom to live the life he or she wants.

But not everyone has that same sense of responsibility. Some people just don’t understand what it takes to be a good neighbor.

Take Donald Trump and JD Vance. Their Project 2025 is going to make things much, much harder for people who are just trying to live their lives. They spend a lot of time pretending they don’t know anything about this. But look, I’ve coached high school football long enough to know — and trust me — if someone takes the time to build a playbook, they’re going to use it.

And we know that if these guys get back into the White House, they’re going to raise costs for the middle class, they’re going to repeal the Affordable Care Act, they’re going to gut Social Security and Medicare, and they’re going to ban abortion across the country, with or without Congress.

Here’s the thing: It’s an agenda that no one asked for. It’s an agenda that serves no one but the wealthiest and most extreme among us. And it’s an agenda that does nothing for our neighbors in need.

Is it weird? Absolutely. Absolutely. But it is also wrong and dangerous.

I’m not just saying that, these are Trump’s own people. They were with him for four years. They are warning us that the next four years are going to be much, much worse.

You know, when I was teaching, we elected a student body president every year, and guess what? Those teenagers could teach Donald Trump a lot about what it means to be a leader. Leaders don’t spend all day insulting people and blaming others. Leaders do the work.

So I don’t know about you, I’m ready to turn the page on these guys. So go ahead, say it with me: We’re not going back.

(The crowd chants, “We’re not going back!”)

We have something better to offer the American people. It starts with our candidate, Kamala Harris.

From her first day as a prosecutor, as a district attorney, as an attorney general, as a United States senator, and then as vice president, she has fought alongside the American people. She has taken on predators and fraudsters. She has taken on transnational gangs. And she has taken on powerful corporate interests. She has never hesitated to go the other way if it meant making your life better. And she has always done so with energy, with passion, and with joy.

People, we have a chance to make Kamala Harris the next President of the United States.

But I think we owe it to the American people to tell them exactly what she would do as president before we ask them for their votes. So here’s the part: cut it out, save it, and send it to your undecided relatives so they know: If you’re a middle-class family or a family trying to get to the middle class, Kamala Harris is going to cut your taxes. If you’re being squeezed by prescription drug prices, Kamala Harris is going to take on Big Pharma. If you’re hoping to buy a house, Kamala Harris is going to help make it more affordable. And whoever you are, Kamala Harris is going to stand up and fight for your freedom to live the life you want to live. Because that’s what we want for ourselves, and it’s what we want for our neighbors.

You know, you may not know this, but I haven’t given many big speeches like this. But I have given a lot of pep talks. So let me end with this: Team, it’s the fourth quarter, we’re down a field goal, but we’re on offense and we’ve got the ball. We’re driving down the field. And boy, do we have the right team.

Kamala Harris is tough, Kamala Harris is experienced and Kamala Harris is ready.

Our job — our job for everyone watching — is to get in the trenches and block and tackle: one inch at a time. One yard at a time, one phone call at a time, one door knock at a time, one $5 donation at a time.

Look, we have 76 days. That’s nothing. There’s time to sleep when you’re dead. We’re going to leave it on the field.

This is how we keep moving forward. This is how we turn the page on Donald Trump. This is how we build a country where workers come first, where health care and housing are human rights, and where government stays out of your bedroom. This is how we make America a place where no child goes hungry, where no community is left behind, where no one is told they don’t belong. This is how we fight, and as the next president of the United States always says, “When we fight—” (The crowd responds: “We win!”) “If we fight—” (The crowd responds: “We win!”) “When we fight?” (The crowd responds: “We win!”)

Thank you. God bless you.