Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz rallied with hundreds inside Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh on Tuesday and said it’s time to turn the page on former President Donald Trump.

Walz’s rally in Acrisure’s Great Hall was part of daylong campaign swing through Western Pennsylvania that started in Lawrence County, went to Butler County and finished with this and another stop in Pittsburgh.

At Acrisure, Walz criticized Trump’s recent appearance in Pennsylvania, where the former president held a town hall in Montgomery County but cut off the questions early and instead played music and danced for the last half-hour.

The Minnesota governor and running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris said Americans were sick of seeing Trump on their television sets and voters are looking to move to a future where Trump’s antics don’t dominate the news.

“He got a little bit tired — go watch this guy. He stopped taking questions,” Walz said of Trump’s town hall. “If this was your grandfather, you would take the keys away. It would be funny if this guy was not running for president of the United States.”

Tim Walz arrived at rally inside Acrisure Stadium where hundreds of supporters have gathered. The former high school football coach said this is his first visit to Steelers Country. pic.twitter.com/qv5eyFf5sP

— Ryan Deto (@RyanDeto) October 15, 2024

Walz was joined at Acrisure by former Steelers safety Will Allen. Walz, a former high school football coach, said he was excited to be in Steeler Country.

Walz lampooned Trump and the current state of the Republican movement during his 30-minute speech but praised the legacy of the Republican Party.

He said former President Ronald Reagan wouldn’t be focused on banning books in schools and stripping Americans of other liberties.

“The Republican Party has contributed a lot to this country,” he said. “When do you remember the party of Ronald Reagan deciding to make decisions for you?”

Walz made his pitch to disaffected Republicans and said he and Harris would be proud to represent them. He touted that both he and Harris are gun owners and have no plans to take people’s guns away, but laws should be passed to help decrease school shootings.

“I think this is the first time in modern history that both members of the Democratic Party are gun owners, and the Republican nominee can’t pass a background check,” Walz said, referring to Trump’s felony convictions for a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor.

Walz also touted Harris’ plan to expand health care coverage and efforts to have Medicare cover hearing and vision. He said there is a lot in the Harris-Walz agenda that should appeal to Republicans.

Earlier in the day, Walz appeared at a family farm in rural Lawrence County.

Decked out in a red-and-black checked flannel shirt and a ball cap, the Minnesota governor took the stage at Telesz Farms in tiny Washington Township about 3 p.m.

“This is about trying to figure out, how do we bring this country back together? And there’s no better place than being on a third-generation family farm,” Walz told about 100 spectators.

Walz spoke against a backdrop of hay bales, pumpkins, corn stalks and a big blue banner that read “Rural voters for Harris-Walz.”

Rick Telesz, the owner of the farm, is a former supporter of Trump, the GOP presidential nominee. He’s now backing the Democratic ticket of Harris and Walz.

Telesz voted for Trump in 2016. He switched to President Joe Biden in 2020 and is now firmly behind Harris-Walz.

He said Walz has character to be a vice president for Republicans and Democrats alike and would represent family farmers.

“He understands what it means to live in a small town,” Telesz said.

The governor, who grew up on a family farm in Nebraska, said he and Harris understand farming issues and how to help rural Pennsylvanians.

He noted that Harris had represented California, the country’s largest agricultural state, while a U.S. senator.

Walz said Harris wants to provide funding to add 10,000 rural health care workers across the country and expand telemedicine and broadband to rural communities.

Arthur Lopez of Beaver County and Carole Little of nearby Volant said they arrived to support Walz at the farm and to also show that rural voters are full of kindness.

They said they’re weary of being stereotyped as conservative and full of anger.

“I want to redefine what a Pennsylvania rural voter is,” Little said.

Walz said Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, don’t understand the values of rural voters.

He noted that when Trump visited a grocery store in Kittanning last month, he handed $100 to shopper to cover her grocery bill.

“He thinks it just natural, anyone he sees he just looks to pay off,” Walz said.

The shopper at Sprankle’s Neighborhood Market was a mother of three.

“We’ll do that for you for the White House, all right?” Trump told her, asking for her vote.

Social media criticism about the encounter circulated, as posters questioned whether Trump violated election law by “buying” a vote. Experts said he did not.

The Trump campaign released a statement after Walz’s farm visit.

“Rural Americans have long felt left behind by Kamala Harris’ weak, failed, dangerously liberal policies to cripple our economy, impose red tape on our farmers and create uncertainty through measures like their burdensome (Waters of the United States) rule,” wrote Republican National Committee spokesperson Anna Kelly. “While working hand-in-glove with Tim Walz, who reduced rural America to ‘rocks and cows,’ Harris opposed the (United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement) because she will always cave to Communist China over farmers, workers and families in Middle America.

“In contrast, President Trump stood up to China, delivered fairer trade deals, supported rural infrastructure and put America First. Harris can try to rewrite history, but it’s too little, too late — rural voters are tired of being failed by Democrats, and they are lining up to support President Trump.”

Walz later visited Bloom Cafe at Quality Gardens greenhouse in Adams Township, Butler County.

During his roughly 10-minute visit, Walz spoke to about two dozen supporters about the need to shrink Trump’s margin of victory in rural and exurban areas.

He encouraged listeners to talk to any voters who are still undecided and promoted the Harris-Walz ticket running a joyful campaign.

“It’s better than being crabby and mean and everything else,” Walz said. “I think people want to be inspired by something.”

He noted how close the race is.

“This thing is not won, for either side,” Walz said. “There’s nothing wrong with being steely-eyed, absolutely focused on this, that this thing is gonna be (within the) margin of error. It’s more than likely coming right through this state.”

A group of 20 Trump supporters set up across the street to protest.

Walz’s visit Tuesday marked his sixth trip to Pennsylvania as Harris’ running mate.

Tim Walz at Telesz Farms in Lawrence County PA. He is talking about the importance of family farms. The owner of the farm is a former Trump supporter but it now backing Harris-Walz pic.twitter.com/7P5xABeB44

— Ryan Deto (@RyanDeto) October 15, 2024

Walz has already traversed the region twice, meandering across Beaver and Allegheny counties with Harris in August and visiting a Fayette County farm and Pamela’s diner in Pittsburgh in September.

With Tuesday’s scheduled stops, Walz will have covered five counties in Western Pennsylvania. Only Trump has visited more — six — this campaign season. Trump visited Butler County earlier this month for a rally, and he has scheduled another campaign event in Latrobe on Saturday.

Harris’ most recent visit to the region was on Monday for a rally in Erie.

Both presidential tickets have placed a massive focus on the Pittsburgh region this year. The area has attracted more visits than any other in the country.

Harris and Trump are locked in a tight race nationally and in Pennsylvania, the country’s largest swing state with 19 crucial votes in the Electoral College.

A recent New York Times/Siena College poll shows Harris ahead of Trump, 49% to 45%, among likely voters in Pennsylvania.

Walz ended his night Tuesday with a 15-minute speech to Democratic donors at a private home in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood. He said voters have told him they are hungry for leaders with a positive vision for the country, and he believes Harris is providing that vision.

He recalled a comment Harris made during their tour Beaver County in August. Walz said when they arrived at an event at the local Democratic Party offices in Rochester, a group of Trump supporters were protesting across the street, yelling at Harris supporters that gathered on the other side of the road.

“She said to me when we arrived, ‘Tim, don’t ever forget that we work just as hard for the people on both sides of the street,’” Walz said.

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---