Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reacted live Tuesday to Vice President Harris' decision to choose Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., as her running mate, calling it a “wonderful” choice before taking aim at critics who argued she was too left-wing.
“Tim Walz is wonderful. She had a lot of good choices. I know Tim Walz very well. He was a member of the House of Representatives. To characterize him as a leftist is unrealistic. He's not, he's in the center. He's a Democrat from the heart of America,” she told the hosts of MSNBC's “Morning Joe.”
Walz, 60, a former congressman, is in his second term as governor of Minnesota, a Democratic-leaning state that the Trump campaign has sought to flip this cycle.
“I find it really disconcerting to see someone I worked with, let's say in the center, characterized as being on the left in this regard. He has her trust, obviously. That was the decision that the presidential candidate, soon to be president of the United States, made. I respect her decision. I respect everyone else,” he said, referring to Harris' other choices for vice president.
HOW LONG WILL KAMALA HARRIS' HONEYMOON LAST IN THE POLLS AGAINST DONALD TRUMP?
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reacted live on “Morning Joe” to Gov. Tim Walz's choice of Kamala Harris as her running mate. (Screenshot/MSNBC)
“He has a great vision for our country. It's about working-class families, it's about rural America, it's about our veterans. He's won twice for governor in Minnesota. The Rev. [Al] “Sharpenton spoke about her decision in relation to George Floyd, a very sad situation. And obviously, we respect the judgment of our presidential candidate. Her comfort level is our comfort level,” Pelosi continued.
Walz was elected to the House of Representatives in 2006 and re-elected five times, representing Minnesota's 1st Congressional District, a mostly rural district that covers the southern part of the state and includes several mid-sized cities.
During his final two years on Capitol Hill, he served as the ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE MEDIA AND CULTURE COVERAGE
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks to reporters after attending a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and other Democratic governors at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 3, 2024. (Reuters/Elizabeth Frantz)
Walz recently referred to his competitors, former President Trump and Sen. JD Vance, as “weird.”
“These guys are just weird,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said during a recent Harris campaign event.
“The fascists are counting on us to come back, but we are not afraid of weird people,” Walz also said during the event. “We are a little scared, but we are not afraid.”
He was also criticized for telling a group of men on a “White Dudes for Harris” phone call to embrace his progressive values.
“We never shy away from our progressive values,” the Minnesota Democrat said on last week's call. “One person's socialism is another person's neighborliness.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Harris was also considering Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Pennsylvania, and Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.
Fox News' Paul Steinhauser, Brooke Singman and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
