Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has reassured presidential candidate Kamala Harris that she is not chasing the top spot and has secured her spot as running mate, aides said.
Harris’ selection was based on the loyalty she received from Waltz during the interview. An insider told Politico..
“I’m at the end of my career. This isn’t about me. This is about working American families,” the father of two reportedly told the current vice president and her vetting team on Sunday.
“And if I have to run through a brick wall, if I have to do the hard thing, I’m willing to do it, because I don’t want anything else,” he added.
The aides explained that Waltz’s deference was appealing to Harris, after four years as a supporting figure to the fading Joe Biden.
Ms. Harris announced on Tuesday that she had chosen Mr. Walz, 60, as her vice presidential pick, and introduced the affable former high school football coach to the crowd at a rally in Philadelphia that evening.
Walz’s loyalty and progressive reputation gave him an advantage over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was widely considered the presidential front-runner.
“My humble sense is that Harris was concerned that Shapiro would be overshadowed by her and become the focal point of this slate,” a Democratic activist told The Post.
“The choice was more or less driven by atmosphere,” they added.
While Waltz embodied a “Midwestern, harmless vibe,” there were concerns about Shapiro’s personal ambitions and his stance on the Israel-Hamas war.
Shapiro, who was raised Jewish and spent his youth in Israel, is an outspoken critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pro-Likud government but also argues that Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip following the October 7 attacks was part of its fundamental right to self-defense.
Shapiro’s views on the conflict put him at odds with hardline progressives who have sharply criticized the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s war.
Concerns about how Shapiro’s nomination will affect Harris’ relationship with younger progressives could be exacerbated by warnings from Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania), a long-time rival of Shapiro’s.
The two men clashed while serving together on the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, with Fetterman allegedly witnessing Shapiro put his political ambitions above what he believed was morally right.
Shortly after Harris announced Walz as her running mate on Tuesday, Shapiro praised the Minnesota governor as a “very strong” choice.
“Over the next 90 days, I look forward to traveling across Pennsylvania and uniting Pennsylvanians behind Kamala Harris’ campaign to defeat Donald Trump to become the 47th President of the United States and build a better future for our country,” he said in a statement posted to X.
He shared the stage with Harris and Walz at the Philadelphia rally on Tuesday night.
