During an episode of NBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” on Tuesday, host Chuck Todd suggested that Vice President Kamala Harris’ choice of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate may have been influenced by pushback from the progressive left.
Todd noted that Harris had been considering other contenders for the vice presidential slot, such as Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. However, he said that progressive backlash to these more moderate candidates may have played a role in Harris’ ultimately choosing Walz.
“I have a yellow flag in my head going, ‘Huh, if you squeal loud enough, she hears and responds’,” Todd said. “There is going to be people that will come away from this experience thinking, ‘Huh, the progressive backlash is what got her off of Shapiro or what got her off of Kelly.’ In fairness, maybe they didn’t vet either, okay? On substance, I can’t help but have that takeaway.”
Many members of the progressive left were vocal in their support for Walz, particularly when reports surfaced that he was among the final contenders for the vice presidential slot. His more progressive policies, such as transgender surgeries for minors and implementing a carbon-free electrical grid, appealed to these activists.
Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany also weighed in on Harris’ choice, speculating that “there’s a lot of cheering at Mar-a-Lago” as former President Donald Trump prepares to possibly go after the Harris-Walz ticket. McEnany cited Walz’s liberal record, including his support for driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants and his stance on abortion.
“I think it is fair to call him a progressive in sheep’s clothing,” McEnany said. “When you look at his record over the last few years, what you see are policies that are far to the left of America … Kamala Harris now has to do the exact opposite of what Tim Walz did. While he became more progressive, she is trying to become more moderate. But Republicans are going to say, ‘You’ve shed all your progressive policies, but yet you chose a progressive.'”
CNN commentator Van Jones also expressed concern about conservative reactions to Harris’ pick of Walz. “What worries me is you see a lot of relief from the conservatives,” Jones said. “They were scared of Josh Shapiro … they were scared of Mark Kelly. They thought that would help define Kamala more to the middle. You see a lot of rejoicing on the right. That’s not good.”
'Yellow Flag': Chuck Todd Says He 'Can't Help But' Think 'Progressive Backlash' Led Harris To Pick Tim Walz pic.twitter.com/5hiVssgbTN
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Harris’ choice of Walz as her running mate may have been influenced by a desire to appease the progressive left and uphold her own more moderate image. However, it remains to be seen how this decision will ultimately be received by both sides of the political spectrum.