CNN appeared to be scrambling to comfort its viewers on Tuesday after Vice President Kamala Harris stunned observers by appearing to botch the administration’s first decision to select Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, as her running mate.
The front-runner was Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (Democrat), a moderate from a battleground state. Anticipation was high when the Harris campaign decided to announce her running mate on Tuesday night in Philadelphia.
But the party’s left-wing, anti-Israel base has made it clear that it will reject Shapiro not just for his pro-Israel views but also because he is Jewish, and some Democrats have openly spoken out against anti-Semitism within the party.
Waltz is moved He has moved further left throughout his tenure in Congress, representing a reliably Democratic state and championing radical policies on abortion, transgender people, energy and policing.
That has alarmed some Democrats, and reporters have been forced to ask why she chose Shapiro and whether she was succumbing to anti-Semitism within her own party.
But CNN and its guests took a more optimistic approach, arguing that at the very least, Walz would not harm the race.
“It’s a very shaky argument,” left-leaning political scientist Larry Sabato told CNN’s Jim Acosta.
I’m older than I look, so the old rule I’ve heard many times is that being nominated for vice president can’t hurt, can’t hurt. Sorry, but despite what this person and that person and others have said, I don’t think he’s going to do any serious harm and is a plus in other ways. Think about Wisconsin and Michigan. If he just campaigned and camped in Wisconsin and Michigan, he could do Kamala Harris a lot of favor.
On the positive side, Sabato said Waltz is an “interesting guy” with a good resume and a good sense of humor, adding, “You have to remember that vice presidential candidates tend to fade into the background relatively quickly.”
Veteran political reporter Jeff Zeleny suggested Waltz may have been picked to avoid overshadowing Harris: “He was a partner in the administration, and his ambitions were not seen as a hindrance to the administration.” [Harris’s] schedule.”
He added: “At the end of the day, this isn’t about him, this is about the top candidates.”
Van Jones acknowledged that Kamala chose Walz because she was “giving in to the darker parts of the party” in appeasing the “anti-Semitic bigots” that are “ingrained” in the party. pic.twitter.com/UTspmYkFfF
— Nick Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) August 6, 2024
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of “Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” which is available for preorder on Amazon. He also wrote,Trumpian virtue: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump’s presidency” is available on Audible. He is the 2018 recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
