Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who is considered to be on the short list of possible running mates for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, on Sunday left the door open to joining her on the ticket if asked.
“I would do what is in the best interest of the country,” Walz said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” when asked whether he would serve as Harris’ running mate.
Pressed on whether that includes serving as vice president, Walz replied, “We’ll cross paths when we get there.”
Harris’ campaign has requested vetting materials from several possible running mates including Walz, NBC News has reported. But in his CNN interview, Walz stopped short of confirming whether he has received vetting materials from the Harris campaign.
“I’m not speaking on anything personal on this,” he said. “I think being mentioned is certainly an honor. My job is to make sure that — and I trust Vice President Harris’ judgment — she’ll make the best choice she’s going to. But one way or another, she is going to win in November, and that’s going to benefit everyone.”
Walz, a military veteran who has also served as a congressman and public school teacher, is known for his record of championing rural communities and the working class, and has implemented progressive policies in his state throughout his two terms as governor.
Walz has signed state legislation codifying abortion rights protections, legalizing recreational marijuana, placing restrictions on gun ownership and securing legal protections for transgender youths. He has also enacted laws that provide expanded paid family leave and universal school meals for students.
Asked if his legislative record would be an asset to the Harris campaign or fuel attacks from former President Donald Trump’s campaign painting the vice president as “ultra liberal,” Walz replied: “What a monster — kids are eating and having full bellies, so they can go learn, and women are making their own health care decisions. And we’re a top-five business state, and we also rank in the top three of happiness.”
“Look, they’re going to label whatever they’re going to label. He’s going to roll it out, mispronounce names, you know, to try and make the case,” he added, referring to attacks Trump and his allies have aimed at Harris. “The fact of the matter is, where you see the policies that Vice President Harris was a part of making, Democratic governors across the country executed those policies and quality of life is higher.”
Walz’s allies view him as a potential VP pick who could appeal to rural and working class voters, and therefore offer a boost to Harris’ presidential campaign.
Walz’s recent candid attacks on Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance — whom he slammed as “weird” during an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” last week — have caught the attention of fellow Democrats, including Harris, whose campaign messaging against the Republican ticket has followed Walz’s lead in adopting the simple phrase.
“Listen to the guy. He’s talking about Hannibal Lecter and shocking sharks and just whatever crazy thing pops into his mind. And I thought we just give him way too much credit,” Walz said in his interview on CNN when asked why calling Trump “weird” is an effective line of attack for Democrats.
“My observation on this is — have you ever seen the guy laugh? That seems very weird to me, that an adult can go through six and a half years of being in the public eye — if he has laughed, it’s at someone, not with someone,” he added. “That is weird behavior, and I don’t think you call it anything else. It is simply what we’re observing.”