Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) pushed back against GOP critics who labeled Vice President Harris’ newly announced running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), as “extreme left,” saying he is “well below the middle.”
Her comments come as some on the right criticize Harris for choosing Walz over another of her candidates on the list, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), who is Jewish.
“Tim Walz is wonderful. And she had a lot of good choices among the six and certainly among the two — I’m a big fan of Josh Shapiro,” Pelosi said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” referring to another of shortlisted candidates. . “Tim Walz, I know very well…he served in the House. Characterizing him as a leftist is so unrealistic.”
“He’s right in the middle, he’s the heart of the American Democrat,” she added.
Her praise for the Minnesota governor came shortly after Harris announced she had chosen Walz as her vice presidential nominee in preparation for a showdown against former President Trump in November.
Harris praised Walz’s support of middle-class families and his personal history serving in the National Guard and working as a teacher.
The Trump campaign quickly dismissed the pick, calling Walz a “West Coast wannabe.”
“It’s no surprise that San Francisco liberal Kamala Harris wants West Coast hopeful Tim Walz as her running mate – Walz spent his governorship trying to reshape Minnesota in the image of the Golden State,” said San Francisco’s press secretary. Trump campaign Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. .
Walz, who leads a blue-leaning state, has emerged as a dark horse candidate and gained national attention for labeling the former president and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), as “outsiders.”
Pelosi highlighted Walz’s 12 years in the House, where he eventually became the ranking Democrat on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
“I don’t want anyone to forget that because he made tremendous, tremendous gains for our veterans, working with our people on the Appropriations Committee and with the Speaker of the House, we made more progress than had ever been made in the history of the our country since the GI Bill his leadership,” she said.
Noting Walz’s service in the National Guard, Pelosi argued that he brings “the security credential” and the “rural credential.”
“So it’s really confusing to me to see someone that I worked with, let’s say, right in the middle, characterized by the left in this regard,” said the former president.
The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign for further comment.
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