♪ contract malaria meet at the burial ground ♪ [ cheers and applause ] ♪ this is "nightline." >> byron: tonight -- who is tim walz? >> i'll have vice president harris' back every single day. and we'll have yours.

>> byron: vice president kamala harris debuts her running mate. >> tim walz will be ready on day one. >> byron: how the minnesota governor went from dark horse to top contender by eviscerating republican rivals. >> these guys are just weird, that's who they are. >> byron: the former teacher and veteran's record also now under attack. >> kamala harris has bent the knee to the far left of her party. >> byron: will the vp pick make a difference at the ballot box? what voters are saying tonight. plus the smashing pumpkins. ♪ shake down 1979 ♪ >> byron: on tour with new music celebrating a classic 1979 sound. >> felt good to go back to our roots and make an old-school record. >> byron: one on one with singer billy corgan opening up about letting time heal all wounds. >> making peace with your brothers. that's the real story of the band. >> byron: coming face-to-face with a prediction he made about himself three decades ago. >> we do have a clip from 1995. >> you're scaring me now.

i'm cowering. >> let's play it right here. >> byron: and jaw-dropping moments at the paris games. (woman) with purina one true instinct, her true instincts really came alive. from day one, it's the high-protein nutrition she instinctively craves. it's making a real difference, supporting healthy energy and strong muscles. purina one true instinct is the food she was born to eat, helping her live the life she was born to live. (vo) purina one true instinct. a difference from day one. [phone beeping and vibrating] ♪ ♪ ♪

when your bedroom has everything you need... it's okay to give everything else a rest. welcome to the goodnight club. find your dream bedroom at ikea. z's baking the house special. welcome to the goodnight club. arisa's styling a new look. and steve's filling his biggest order ever. with the first ever comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee, these business owners get five years of value on gig speed internet and advanced security, all from the company with 99.9% network reliability. so now they can focus on doing what they do best for the next five years. that's a lot of bread. you got this. the comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee. switch today for a limited tim. ♪ >> byron: good evening. thank you for joining us. democratic presidential nominee kamala harris today making the

most consequential decision of her barely two-week-old campaign, choosing her running mate and potentially america's next vice president. after weeks of anticipation and speculation, this evening, vice president kamala harris making her first appearance alongside her new running mate, minnesota governor tim walz. >> welcome the next vice president of the united states, tim walz! >> byron: the newly minted democratic ticket making their debut at a rally in philadelphia. >> in his state, he has been a model chief executive. and with his experience, i'm telling you, tim walz will be ready on day one. >> byron: the one-time teacher, coach, and veteran addressing the crowd of thousands. >> it was my students, they encouraged me to run for office. they saw in me what i was hoping to instill in them, a commitment

of common good, a belief that one person can make a difference. >> byron: the news comes amid a razor-thin election. 538 polling averages show harris up just over a point and a half above donald trump. the democratic party hoping walz can give harris the edge needed to strengthen the ticket in middle america and win the white house. >> we've got 91 days. my god, that's easy. we'll sleep when we're dead. >> that electricity was palpable tonight in that crowd. so, i think when you look at what tim brings, tim brings an authentic voice of rural america. whether it is in rural pennsylvania, whether it's in michigan, whether it's in arizona or georgia, he is who he is. >> byron: the choice doesn't come without risk. some critics calling him too progressive and questioning if he can help deliver moderate centrist voters who are on the fence.

>> i think it is a really, really bad choice, the same way i thought that vance was not a good choice by donald trump. she had an opportunity to bring the country together with this choice. instead, she's decided to divide us even further. >> byron: among voters, a mixed reaction. >> i don't even know exactly who it is. but seems like a good choice. >> it's just like, wow, you know, just -- going to have to wait and see what happens. but i'm still -- i'm still weighing out the options. >> he seems a little more liberal than her, which i'm not happy about some of his ideas. of course, that's why i'm voting for trump. and for j.d. vance. >> byron: since president biden stepped aside from the presidential race just over two weeks ago, the vetting of a vp pick has been fast and furious. >> having gone through this twice myself, both in 2012 and 2016, the process was significantly longer under both mitt romney and donald trump.

and i think she -- vice president harris probably would have liked to have had more time. >> byron: harris met with several top contenders, including pennsylvania governor josh shapiro and senator mark kelly of arizona this past weekend. they were edged out by the dark horse, the 60-year-old lesser-known governor from minnesota. harris making her final decision this morning and calling walz. >> would you be my running mate, and let's get this thing on the road? >> i would be honored, madam vice president. >> byron: chatter had been building around walz since he coined this line of attack against republicans on cable news. >> well, it's true, these guys are just weird. you know, they're running for he-man women-haters club or something. >> byron: his description of donald trump and j.d. vance as weird became a favorite line of top democrats stumping for harris. from pete buttigieg, also on msnbc -- >> just a weird style that he brings. it's that this leads to weird policies. >> byron: to harris herself. >> some of what he and his

running mate are saying, it's just plain weird. >> byron: walz doubling down on the punchline tonight. >> i just have to say it. you know it. you feel it. these guys are creepy, and yes, just weird as hell, that's what you see. that's what you see. >> it's just one word, but it might be the word that actually changed the course of history when it comes to shaping the new harris/walz ticket. you wouldn't look at tim walz and say this is a guy that would go viral, but in this moment he seemed to encapsulate the mood, the vibe of democrats, how they wanted to position themselves. >> byron: walz was elected governor of minnesota in 2018 and is serving a second term. before that, he was the congressman for 12 years representing a historically red district and was the top democrat on the veterans affairs committee. >> i think for tim, what you see is what you get. and what you get is very genuine. it's very real. but it also is very rural. and i think that's a great thing for the democratic ticket.

>> byron: the father of two is a gun owner and served in the army national guard for over two decades, reaching the rank of command sergeant major. >> at that time in the national guard, he basically paid the bills to get himself through college. unlike almost every recent presidential nominee, vice presidential nominee. he didn't go to law school, he's not a lawyer. >> byron: as governor he's faced both praise and criticism for his record, including protecting abortion rights in the state after the overturn of roe v. wade. >> and the message that we're sending to minnesota today is very clear. your rights are protected in this state. you have the right to make your own decisions about your health, your family, and your life. >> byron: adding protections for lgbtq youth. >> and we made minnesota more welcoming by outlawing things like conversion therapy for our lgbtq youth and putting in new protections for trans minnesotans. >> byron: on immigration, he signed a law making undocumented immigrants eligible for driver's licenses. >> so the folks that want to

call minnesota home and want to be here, we welcome them, want them here, want to make that process easier for them. >> the border issue is something that he hasn't had to deal with as directly as the governor of minnesota, but it's been confronting people across the country, and it's a big one. >> byron: walz faced scrutiny for his handling of the unrest in the state following the killing of george floyd. some critics say he should have been quicker to deploy the minnesota national guard. >> that is an abject failure that cannot happen. >> byron: before he was a politician -- >> my high school class was 24 people. i was related to half of them. >> byron: the nebraska native was a teacher for 20 years, something highlighted in his first campaign ad as the vp pick. >> i coached football and taught social studies for 20 years. >> byron: he met his wife, gwen, while teaching. they have two children conceived through ivf. >> hi, minnesota, governor walz here along with -- >> hope. >> byron: videos of him and his daughter hope have gone viral over the last few days.

>> we're going to go get some food. corn dogs? >> i'm vegetarian. >> turkey? >> turkey's meat. >> not in minnesota. turkey's special. >> he makes you feel seen, he makes you feel heard, he tells bad dad jokes, all that kind of stuff. >> reporter: blake frank was walz's student at mankato high school in 2000. >> he's incredibly energetic. incredibly enthusiastic. i would often compare him to the matt foley character in "saturday night live." >> that young man, what do you want to do with your life? >> he'd be just getting so expressive about teaching geography, which is a class that i think a lot of people maybe tune out of. but there is no way that you could tune out of mr. walz's geography class. >> byron: walz inspired frank to become a geography teacher. he's all-in for his former teacher. >> you're going to see that passion that he had in the classroom on the debate stage for sure. >> byron: many voters wondering how walz will size up against the man he could be facing off against on a debate stage. >> i got to tell you, i can't wait to debate the guy.

>> byron: j.d. vance. >> that is, if he's willing to get off the couch and show up. see what i did there? >> byron: vance already on the attack at his own rally in philadelphia today. >> i think what tim walz's selection says is that kamala harris has bent the knee to the far left of her party, what she always does. >> they're both from relatively humble upbringings, grew up in relatively rural circumstances. and they've both served in the military. the way they came to prominence is much, much different. i do think the clarity with which they can communicate their commitment to their values does make them kind of two sides of at least a similar coin. >> you have two candidates who wanted to double down on their own base rather than try to unite the country. and i'm sure that is, for that 7 to 10% of voters in the key states around the country, that

it's a pretty depressing day to see that that's what the kamala harris did the exact same thing donald trump did. >> byron: but can either vp pick sway the outcome of the election? >> i think politically, he does help her. because i think that if we can just pick up 5% more, energize those rural democrats who haven't voted for awhile or maybe switched their vote, just 5% of them switching will make all the difference. >> you probably have to go back to lyndon johnson and the state of texas to find a running mate who actually delivered a state that might have been otherwise in the other column. it's actually not that common. >> byron: with about 90 days until election day, anything is possible. >> i think this race is still a jump ball. and how the two candidates at the top of the ticket perform over the next 90 days is going to determine who wins this election. >> we have never seen a 30-day span like the last month in american politics. we're going to have a lot of wild events before this is done. >> byron: kamala harris and tim

walz will take the stage together at the dnc. we'll have complete coverage right here on abc. when we come back, the smashing pumpkins' billy corgan. the surprising thing he says made him want to make great music like "tonight tonight" again. ♪ you believe this night will change tonight ♪ ♪ tonight tonight ♪ change tonight ♪ ♪ tonight tonight ♪ ♪ tonight tonight ♪ detect this: living with hiv, craig learned he can stay undetectable with fewer medicines. that's why he switched to dovato. dovato is a complete hiv treatment for some adults. no other complete hiv pill uses fewer medicines to help keep you undetectable than dovato.

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♪ ♪ >> byron: welcome back. the smashing pumpkins are back with brand-new music. the alt-rock pioneers, older, wiser, more interested in impressing their kids than critics. here's abc's ashan singh. >> reporter: welcome to "nightline." >> i was on "nightline" with ted koppel in '94, it's an honor to be back. >> reporter: unbelievable, you're an old friend of the show. >> i feel like og. >> billy corgan of smashing pumpkins. >> "nightline," such a great history. >> reporter: congrats on the new record. how does it feel? >> feels good. there was this vibe in the music industry for a while that if you were a band with some years on you, fans didn't care about new music. that's really changing the last couple of years. people are seeing the connection between an artist putting out new music and, of course, selling tickets.

we're excited because we're looking at 20 more years of the band where a couple of years ago, people told us we had no future. >> reporter: fans know you from iconic tracks like "1979." ♪ ♪ shake down 1979 ♪ >> reporter: how would you describe that sound to someone living under a rock? >> it's kind of emotional sound. big guitar sound. it was nice to get back there, remember where we came from. somehow, it all came together. >> reporter: you brought the band back together. james, jimmy chamberlain on the record. what was it like working with those guys again? >> like any family, putting the band back together, making peace with your brothers, i think that's the real story of the band. letting the music be the thing that heals us and want to provide for our families. we're all fathers in the family now. i think living long enough and having your audience grow with you, that's part of our story. it's very humbling, because when you start, you never think you're going to last more than a few years. >> reporter: speaking of those moments in the past, we have a

clip from mtv's rockumentary, 1995 -- >> you're scaring me now. >> reporter: let's play it right here. ♪ >> i hope we mature gracefully. right now, i don't really care, because the thing about the future and thinking about the past is really a way of avoiding the present. all i know is that the present right now is very good. >> reporter: i mean, it's pretty unbelievable, right? >> that young man. >> reporter: almost three decades since that moment. what's it like reflecting on that idea of living really in the present? >> none of us could have expected the changes that were going to happen in the music business. now the rise of streaming services has created this whole new opportunity that we never could have imagined. the young man you see talking there has no idea what's coming. i was dealing with the old-school business, which was exploitive, but kind of right in front of you. mtv, "rolling stone," sell records, sell tickets, that's it. no one thought what was coming was coming. >> reporter: you mentioned the business side. how about the personal side?

you talk about this idea of maturation. all you guys are fathers. how has it shaped your artistry? especially heading into this new record? >> i'm an old dad, i'm 57. i have kids that are 8 and 5. something i never realized, looking at my son, i didn't want him to see me talking about what happened before he was born. i wanted him to experience my success in the present. so it really motivated me to get off my -- my rear end and work hard and try to bring the band back to a place of prominence. so that it could be proud of me. because it felt weird to talk about something that happened 20, 30 years before he was born. i think it's the same for the other guys in the band. >> reporter: do you talk to your kids about the smashing pumpkins through the decades? >> oh, yeah. they watched the videos. they have a lot of questions. my kids come on tour with me a lot. in fact, when we played with greenday, they come on stage and they dance. they're part of the show. so, they get to experience that from their own perspective. you can imagine what an 8-year-old thinks of a crowd of 40,000 people. he raises his hand and he's

like, "i raised my hand, but nobody cheered." it's a little bit harder than raise your hand to get a cheer. it's a tough gig out there. ♪ the world is a vampire ♪ >> reporter: you're on a world tour with green day, you've got a tour of your own name called "the world is a vampire." any smashing pumpkins fan would know, that's a lyric from "a bullet with butterfly wings." brand-new album, world tour, three decades-plus in the game. still having fun? >> we used to say back in the day, the pumpkins aren't about fun. that's kind of our motto. we're really about creating a different feeling. we're more of an emotional animal. and the people attracted to us are attracted to the fact that we sort of exist in our own oxygen. and so we do have fun, but it's not that other kind of fun, put that it way. >> reporter: billy, thank you so much for joining us. you can listen to "aghori mhori mei" anywhere you get your music online. >> byron: our thanks to ashan. when we return, the amazing finish in the men's 1,500 and more triumphs of today's paris games.

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♪ ♪ ♪ >> byron: finally tonight, on land and water, americans taking gold at today's olympic games. today, a shocking win in the 1,500-meter final. cole hocker setting a new olympic record. yared nuguse taking bronze. two americans on the podium, the first time in more than 100 years. >> it's just so special to have two americans that are pushing each other -- he's obviously pushed me to a new level of stuff that, you know, i never

thought i was capable of doing. >> byron: the other u.s. track doubleheader, gabby thomas winning the gold in the 200 meter. >> it was just so many emotions flooding me. happiness, joy, pride, disbelief, shock, all at once. and it was the happiest moment of my life. >> byron: with brittany brown taking bronze. and all the way from tahiti, carolyn marks taking gold in the women's surfing final. the u.s. now surpassing china in both gold medals and total medals. that's "nightline" for this evening. catch full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks for the company, america. good night.