Former President Trump welcomed Vice President Harris’s decision to add Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) to the Democratic ticket, calling it a “shocking pick.”
“I would say my reaction is, I can’t believe it. I never thought I was going to be the one who was picked,” Trump said Wednesday morning in an interview on Fox News’s “Fox and Friends.”
“He’s a very liberal man, and he’s a shocking pick,” the former president added. “I could not be more thrilled.”
Trump called Walz a “smarter version” of Harris and “about the same as Bernie Sanders,” referring to the independent senator from Vermont. Walz’s voting record has shown he’s much more moderate than Sanders.
The GOP nominee also attacked Walz as weak on immigration and “very heavy into transgender.” Walz has signed legislation as governor of the North Star State protecting access to gender-affirming care.
The former president additionally raised the riots in Minnesota after the 2020 murder of George Floyd by police, suggesting that was the only time the two interacted while Trump was in office. Walz has faced criticism from some Republicans for being slow to activate the National Guard to quell the demonstrations.
Trump told Fox News he felt Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) would have been a stronger choice than Walz, and he echoed claims from other Republicans who have suggested the governor was passed over for the role because of his Jewish heritage.
“I’m no big fan of Josh Shapiro. I know the state very well … but I would have said it would have been a better choice,” the former president said.
“I have very little doubt … it was because of the fact that he’s Jewish, and they think they’re going to offend somebody else,” Trump added, repeating his previous claim that any Jewish person who votes for Democrats should “have their head examined.”
Harris announced Tuesday that she had chosen Walz as her running mate after a whirlwind two-week vetting process. Harris interviewed Walz, Shapiro and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) for the position.
The vice president ultimately opted for Walz, largely because of the chemistry the two were able to develop in a short time, but also because of his background and policy record.
Walz was born in Nebraska, served in the military and worked as a high school teacher before serving six terms in Congress. As governor, Harris noted he signed legislation intended to protect abortion access, curb gun violence and enshrine voting rights.
The pick drew raves from a range of Democrats, including from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.). The Harris campaign said it raised more than $20 million in the hours after Walz was added to the ticket.
The governor had something of a meteoric rise into the national spotlight in recent weeks, aided in part by his description of Trump and Republicans as “weird.”
Trump’s campaign also criticized Harris’s decision, calling Walz a “West Coast wannabe.”