How Tim Walz Missed the ‘Most Important Call of His Life’ With Kamala Harris

In a new clip posted to Kamala Harris’ TikTok account, the Democratic presidential candidate and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, reminisced on the moment that she called him to officially ask him to run in the 2024 race with her. And it turns out that things didn’t quite go to plan, despite what the initial video of the moment would suggest.

“I called you, Tim. You didn’t answer, Tim,” Harris tells Walz in the new video, laughing. “What happened?”

“I know, I know,” Walz responds. “The most important call of my life. It popped up, and we didn’t recognize the caller ID and it went to voicemail.”

The video then switches to the behind-the-scenes moment that shows Harris calling Walz and being sent to voicemail. Harris and her team can be heard laughing.

“Hey Tim. It’s Kamala. I really want to talk to you,” Harris says to Walz’s voicemail.

The video ends with Tim saying that it’s an “amazing privilege” to run with Harris, and that he just wants to be “a part of the excitement.”

The video is just the most recent iteration of Harris utilizing TikTok and her now 4.5 million followers on the app to spread messaging.

When Harris first announced Walz as her Vice President pick, she did so with a signature video of her conversation with Walz.

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“Listen, I want you to do this with me. Let's do this together. Would you be my running mate? And let’s get this thing on the road?” Harris asked Walz in the video, smiling.

Walz first broke the news that he had missed Harris’ phone call in a video posted to X (formerly Twitter), where he recapped his first week as the Democratic vice presidential candidate. In the video, he said the week started with him “missing a phone call from the Vice President. Pretty important one.”

One of the most popular comments on the TikTok video of Walz and Harris’ conversation reads: “Nothing is more relatable as not answering the phone because you don’t recognize the caller.” This speaks to the Harris campaign’s strategy so far with Walz: relatability. Walz’s “Midwestern dad” appeal—his plainspoken, Midwestern communication style—has seemingly been deployed by the Harris campaign.

Another strategy being used by the Democratic Party focuses on labeling the GOP candidates as “weird.”