Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reacted live on Tuesday to Vice President Harris’ decision to pick Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., as her running mate and said he was a “wonderful” choice before taking aim at critics arguing he was too far left.
“Tim Walz is wonderful. She had many good choices. Tim Walz I know very well. He served in the House. To characterize him as left is so unreal. It’s just not, he’s right down the middle. He’s a heartland of America Democrat,” she told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
The 60-year-old Walz, a former congressman, is in his second term as governor of Minnesota, a Democratic-leaning state that the Trump campaign has aimed at flipping this cycle. No Republican White House candidate has won Minnesota since 1972. Despite Walz’s staunchly progressive record, Pelosi called him “right down the middle.”
“Really it’s mystifying to me to see someone that I worked with, shall we say right down the middle, characterized on the left in this regard. He has her confidence, obviously. That was the decision that the presidential nominee, soon-to-be president of the United States, has made. I respect her decision. I respect all the rest,” she said, referring to Harris’ other VP options.
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“He has a great vision for our country. It’s about working-class families, about rural America, about our veterans. He has won for governor two times in Minnesota. Reverend [Al] Sharpton talked about his decision in terms of the George Floyd, such a sad situation. And obviously, we respect the judgment of our nominee for president. Her comfort level is our comfort level,” Pelosi continued.
Walz was elected to the House in 2006 and re-elected five times, representing Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District, a mostly rural district covering the southern part of the state that includes a number of midsize cities.
During his last two years on Capitol Hill, he served as ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
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Walz recently referred to his competition, former President Trump and Sen. JD Vance, as “weird.”
“These guys are just weird,” Walz said during a recent campaign event for Harris.
“The fascists depend on us going back, but we’re not afraid of weird people,” Walz also said during the event. “We’re a little bit creeped out, but we’re not afraid.”
He was also criticized for telling a group of men on a “White Dudes for Harris” phone call to embrace their progressive values.
“Don’t ever shy away from our progressive values,” the Minnesota Democrat said on the call last week. “One person’s socialism is another person’s neighborliness.”
Harris was also reportedly considering Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., among other possibilities.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser, Brooke Singman and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
