Minnesota Governor Tim Waltzwho is considered to be on short list of possible running mates for vice president Kamala Harris‘ The presidential campaign left the door open for him to join if asked for a ticket on Sunday.
“I would do what’s in the best interest of the country,” Walz said interview When asked if he would serve as an aide to Harris on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“We’ll cross paths when we get there,” Walz said when pressed on whether that included the vice presidency.
Harris has a campaign He asked several possible running mates, including Walz, for verification materialsThis was reported by NBC News. But in an interview with CNN, Walz declined to confirm whether he had received vetting materials from the Harris campaign.
“I’m not saying anything personal about it,” he said. “I think it’s definitely an honor to be named. My job is to make sure — and I trust Vice President Harris’ judgment — that he makes the best choice. But one way or another, he will win in November, and it will be for everyone’s benefit.”
A military veteran who has also served as a congressman and public school teacher, Walz is known for his advocacy of rural communities and the working class, and pursues a progressive policy in his state during his two terms as governor.
Walz signed the codifying state legislation protection of abortion rightslegalize recreational marijuana, place gun ownership restrictions and security legal protection of transgender youth. also adopted laws providing extended paid family leave and universal school meals for students.
Asked if his legislative record would be an asset to the Harris campaign or if it would bolster former President Donald Trump’s campaign attacks on the vice president as an “ultra-liberal,” Walz replied: “What a monster, kids eat and they’re full, so so they can learn and women make their own health decisions. We are a top five business country and at the same time we are in the top three of happiness.”
“Look, they’re going to label whatever they’re going to label. He’s going to expose it, he’s going to mispronounce names, you know, he’s going to try and make a case,” he added, referring to the attacks Trump and his allies have leveled against Harris. “The point is, if you look at the policies that Vice President Harris has been a part of, Democratic governors across the country have implemented those policies and the quality of life is higher.”
Walz’s his allies look at him as a potential VP choice who could appeal to rural and working-class voters and therefore boost Harris’ presidential campaign.
Walz’s recent outspoken attacks on Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, which he called “weird” in an interview. MSNBC’s “Morning JoeLast week — it caught the attention of other Democrats, including Harris campaign messaging He followed Walz’s lead in adopting the simple phrase against the Republican ticket.
“Listen to the boy. He talks about Hannibal Lecter and shocking sharks and whatever other craziness he can think of. I thought we were giving him too much credit,” Walz said in an interview with CNN when asked why calling Trump a “freak” was an effective line of attack for Democrats.
“My observations on this are – have you ever seen a boy laugh? It seems very strange to me, that a grown man can be in the public eye for six and a half years – if he has laughed, it’s at someone’s face, not at someone,” he added. It’s strange behavior, and I don’t think you’d call it anything else. It’s just what we’re seeing.”
Adam Edelman contributed.