Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, US Pool

According to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, President Biden was at the White House this morning when Kamala Harris informed him about her choice of Tim Walz as a running mate.

She acknowledges that Harris sought Biden's advice on the matter.

Asked whether Biden had a favourite contender for the position, Jean-Pierre says only that the president has known Governor Walz for two decades and worked closely with him during his tenure as Minnesota's governor.

As a reminder, the White House cannot, by law, comment too much on campaign matters.

Don't be embarrassed if you haven't heard of Harris' pick for vice president - most American adults haven't, either.

According to an NPR/PBS/Marist poll published on Tuesday before Harris made her selection public, Tim Walz's name recognition is not particularly high.

The poll suggests that 71% of American adults have never heard of Walz or are unsure of their opinion of him.

Only 17% said they had a favourable view of the Minnesota governor, while another 12% said they had an unfavourable view of him.

The poll indicates that Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and Pennsylvania Gov Josh Shapiro - two other VP finalists - had higher name recognition than Walz.

But all three men enjoyed greater net favourability than JD Vance, former President Donald Trump's pick for vice-president.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

As I sit and wait for the White House briefing to begin, I just received the first fundraising email to ostensibly come from Tim Walz since he was announced as a running mate earlier today.

In the email, Walz says he told Kamala Harris he is "all in" when she called him this morning.

While the email says "optimism is in the air" about the Harris campaign, it also says "the only way we win this thing is if we stick together".

"So please allow me to ask... will you pitch in your first $25 from the Harris-Walz campaign?"

The email also accused the "other guys" - the Republican candidates - as "weird", a refrain popularised by Waltz.

"Donald Trump and JD Vance are selling a twisted version of freedom," the email adds. "Kamala and I believe in a different kind of freedom."

Earlier, the Trump-Vance campaign sent out an email to supporters, saying it's "no surprise that San Francisco Liberal Kamala Harris wants West Coast wannabe Tim Walz as her running-mate".

Image source, harriswalz.com

The website HarrisWalz.com - made up of the names of the newly solidified 2024 Democratic ticket - is currently just displaying the word "walz" on a lime-green background.

The image references a popular internet meme branding presidential candidate Kamala Harris as "brat" - a sort of intangible style of cool coined by pop artist Charli XCX with her recent album of the same name.

But while the Harris campaign has leaned into this bit of internet culture, she does not own the neon HarrisWalz.com.

It was actually purchased by Jeremy Green Eche for $8.99 in 2020, the 36-year-old New York lawyer told the Associated Press, external this week, with an eye toward the possibility she might run for president someday.

"I just tried to grab her name and all the heartland governors I could think of," he told the AP.

Eche says he'd be willing to sell the domain to the campaign for $15,000 (£11,800) - the same price for which he sold the domain ClintonKaine.com in 2016 when the former US secretary of state chose Virginia Senator Tim Kaine as her running mate.

But it wasn't Hillary Clinton who purchased the website in 2016 - it was a digital marketing company that turned out to be associated with the Trump campaign.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

I'm still here at the White House, which has filled up considerably since my updates this morning.

The press area is largely full, even though many members of the White House press corps are in Pennsylvania awaiting Vice President Harris' campaign rally.

We're expecting a briefing from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in about 15 minutes - although these briefings are, quite frankly, chronically late to begin.

While Harris's selection of Walz is likely to take up much of the briefing, we're also waiting on any more information regarding a potential escalation in the Middle East.

Biden spoke to Qatar's Emir and Egypt's president about that earlier today, according to the White House.

Rachel Looker
Reporting from Pennsylvania

I just spoke with North Wales resident Ed Bovell outside the American Star Diner.

He told me he’s not surprised Harris chose Walz over Shapiro.

“I think she made a good choice,” he says. “I think it was just a crapshoot.”

Bovell said he imagines a small percentage of other Pennsylvanians are upset that Shapiro won’t be on the ticket, but the majority – himself included - will be voting for Harris regardless.

“I think Shapiro will (still) work very hard to get her elected,” he tells me.

“I don’t think it’ll hurt her not picking him.”

Press arrive for the first Harris-Walz rallypublished at 18:53 British Summer Time 6 August

18:53 BST 6 August

Nomia Iqbal
North America correspondent, reporting from Philadelphia

We’ve arrived at the Liacouras Center which in a few hours will mark the beginning of a new chapter for the Democratic Party.

“Biden Harris 2024” is soon to be relegated to the past - all the signs in blue and white here now read “Harris Walz.”

Both will be on stage together for the first time to present themselves as the duo to take on the Republicans Donald Trump and JD Vance for the White House.

When we entered the venue we received our Harris-Walz passes and our producer asked a team member if they had Harris-Shapiro ones ready just in case. He just laughed.

This venue has the capacity to hold more than 10,000 people. Harris and Walz will address them around 17:00 ET (22:00 BST) and it’ll be our first glimpse at how they connect and why the Democratic Party see them as a winning ticket.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

The Harris campaign has published a 21-second TikTok featuring Tim Walz, its first since he was officially named as her running mate for the upcoming election.

The short video - which shows Walz in his office, on a football field, in a helicopter and with animals - seeks to contrast him with Donald Trump's running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance.

"People like JD Vance know nothing about small town America. It's not about hate. It's not about collapsing in," Walz says in the video.

"The golden rule there is ‘mind your own damn business.’ Their policies are what destroyed rural America. They’ve divided us,” Walz adds.

We've got some reaction from the other top contenders who were touted as potential running mates, who had also held interviews with Kamala Harris last weekend.

Reacting to Tim Walz being picked, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear says it was an honour to be considered for vice-president, "but Tim Walz is a great friend and a great choice".

"I fully support this new ticket and will work to elect Kamala Harris as our next President of the United States," he posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, who was also high up in the running, says: "Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz are going to move us forward."

He says the pair are building a campaign to unite the country, and that he and former Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords are "ready to do everything we can to help them win".

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker says that Walz is an "excellent choice to be the next Vice President of the United States", and he pledged to do everything necessary to ensure he and Harris won the November election.

We heard from another finalist, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who said that Walz was an "exceptionally strong addition to the ticket".

Rachel Looker
Reporting from Pennsylvania

There is a heap of political activity in Pennslyvania today, and I've made my way to a diner in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania - which is where the state's governor, Josh Shapiro, is from.

Shaprio was reportedly one of the finalists to be Harris' vice-president, and folks eating here have shared some of their reactions to the news that their state's top executive wasn't picked.

I spoke with Al Tenney, a Montgomery County resident and committee member with the North Wales Democratic Committee, who said he wasn’t surprised Harris chose Walz.

“I just had a feeling that she needed a balance with a Midwestern,” he told me.

But even though Harris didn’t choose Shapiro, Tenney said he doesn’t think the Democratic presidential candidate is at risk of losing one of the most important swings states.

“They may be upset,” he said of Pennsylvanians reacting to Shapiro being passed over for vice president, "but I don’t think enough to make them either not vote or vote the other way."

“Democrats are going to vote for Democrats.”

In the final question he takes, Vance is asked once again about his controversial "childless cat ladies" comment from 2021.

As a reminder: he said in a Fox News interview that women without children are "miserable" and should not be in leadership positions because they lack a stake in the country's future.

Before he can answer, one woman in the audience yells out, "This cat lady loves you!"

Vance replies: "What I said is very simple, I think American families are good."

He says he wants more pro-family policies in place, though he did not elaborate on what he thinks those should be.

"If the media wants to get offended about a remark I made" several years ago, he says, "Well I'm offended that Americans can't afford groceries".

And that's a wrap on Vance's comments for the day.

Answering a question from a reporter, Vance says he is willing to debate Tim Walz.

While Vance says he "absolutely" wants to do the debate, he will only do so after Walz is "officially the nominee".

Vance also said that he called Walz to wish him well.

Earlier in his remarks, Vance questioned whether the Democrats would "pull a switcheroo" and change vice-presidential candidates ahead of the November election.

"We've gotta give the fake news a few questions," he says as the audience boos.

The first question is about Vance's thoughts on Harris's selection of Tim Walz as her running mate.

"I don't even know if we'll get him as the Democrats have pulled a switcheroo on us," he says, referencing President Joe Biden's late decision to drop out of the race.

"I don't even know if we're actually going to get Tim Walz."

He also calls Walz a "far-left radical" and says the choice of running mate is evidence that Harris has "bent the knee to the far left of the party".

He jokes that "they do make an interesting team", pointing to their response to the racial justice protests in Minneapolis after the 2020 death of George Floyd.

Walz was governor at the time and Republicans have criticised Harris for encouraging her social media followers to post bail for those protesting in Minnesota.

Image source, US Pool

Returning to the podium, Vance says he blames the Biden-Harris administration for Americans "suffering" from addiction.

He then recounted his own mother's long, drawn-out struggles with substance abuse, which ended 10 years ago when she became sober.

"I want them [drug users] to have another opportunity," he says. "I a want a leadership that makes our streets safe enough where kids can make a mistake without having a life taken from them".

Trump, he adds, is "the only person who is going to do exactly that."

He's again criticising Harris directly, arguing that for "16 days and counting" she has not faced questions from the media.

"We [Trump and Vance] will answer any question," he adds. "What kind of an election can you have if your own presidential candidate won't answer any questions?"

JD Vance is zooming in on immigration at a rally in Philadelphia in an effort to undermine Democrats' record on the issue.

"I think we oughta say to Kamala Harris you're fired," Vance says, emphasizing a Trump catchphrase.

He lists policy changes he says are evidence the Biden-Harris administration loosened border policies after the Trump administration.

Vance blames Harris's record on immigration and her approach to crime for the country's fentanyl epidemic - one of his signature talking points - saying Harris's border policies make it easier for drug traffickers to smuggle the substances across the border.

"It is normal people who suffer when Kamala Harris refuse to do her job," he says.

He then invites families impacted by drug addiction to speak, including a Philadelphia narcotics officer and his wife who lost their daughter to an overdose.

Another woman, who says her brother is struggling to overcome an addiction due the easy access to drugs in Philadelphia, says, "this has to to end".

Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate for the 2024 election.

Here is a quick look at his career - including his time as a teacher and more than a decade in Congress - and comments he's made promoting Democratic policies and attacking Donald Trump.

JD Vance has just taken the stage at his rally in South Philadelphia, just hours before Kamala Harris' own rally in the same city.

Vance began with a quick attack on Harris, calling her a "disaster" that brings "chaos" everywhere she goes.

"We have got to kick her out of the United States government, not give her a promotion," he added.

He's now attacking her handling of the US-Mexico border, a common attack line from Republicans.

Still no mention of Walz.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Tim Walz is an "ideal" partner for Harris, former president Barack Obama said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.

In the statement, Obama said that Walz has both the experience and the "values and integrity" for the role.

"Tim's signature is his ability to talk like a human being and treat everyone with decency and respect - not all that surprising considering the fact that he served in the National Guard for 24 years and worked as a high school social studies teacher and football coach before being elected to Congress," Obama wrote.

The Obama statement added that "Governor Walz believes that government works to serve us".

"Not just some of us, but all of us," the statement continued. "That's what makes him an outstanding governor, and that's what will make him an even better vice-president, ready on day one."

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

President Biden has spoken to both Kamala Harris and Tim Walz this morning, the White House has confirmed.

Emilie Simons, White House senior deputy press secretary said that Biden and Harris spoke this morning "ahead of her official announcement".

"The President also spoke with Governor Walz to congratulate him on his selection," Simons added.

We're likely to hear more about those phone calls later this afternoon during Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre's press briefing, currently scheduled for 14:30 local time (17:30 GMT).