Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) pushed back on the GOP critics labelling Vice President Harris’s newly announced running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), as “far-left,” saying he is “right down the middle.”
Her comments come as some on the right have slammed Harris for choosing Walz over another of her shortlist candidates, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), who is Jewish.
“Tim Walz is wonderful. And she had many good choices among the six and certainly among the two — I’m a big fan of Gov. Shapiro,” Pelosi said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “Tim Walz, I know very well … he served in the House. To characterize him as left is so unreal.”
“He’s right down the middle, he’s a heartland of America Democrat,” she added.
Her praise of the Minnesota governor came shortly after Harris announced she tapped Walz as her vice presidential candidate in preparation for a faceoff against former President Trump in November.
Harris lauded Walz’s support for middle class families and his personal history serving in the National Guard and working as a teacher.
The Trump campaign quickly slammed the choice, calling Walz a “West Coast wannabe.”
“It’s no surprise that San Francisco Liberal Kamala Harris wants West Coast wannabe Tim Walz as her running-mate — Walz has spent his governorship trying to reshape Minnesota in the image of the Golden State,” Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
Walz, who leads a blue-leaning state, emerged as a dark horse contender and gained national attention for labeling the former president and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), as “weird.”
Pelosi pointed to Walz’s 12 years in the House, where he eventually became the ranking Democrat on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
“I don’t want anybody to forget that because he made tremendous, tremendous gains for our veterans, working with our folks on the Appropriations Committee and with the Speaker, we made more progress than had ever been made in the history of our country since the GI bill under his leadership,” she said.
Noting Walz’s service in the National Guard, Pelosi argued he brings “the security credential” and “rural credential.”
“So 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,” the former Speaker said.
The Hill reached out to the Trump campaign for further comment.