Vice President Kamala Harris announced her running mate pick, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D), on Tuesday morning. MSNBC’s Morning Joe wasted no time in showering praise on the Governor for his apparently numerous positive qualities, insisting he would help secure the win for the Harris campaign with a “twinkle in his eye.”

Co-host Mika Brzezinski announced the breaking news from the Associated Press, immediately celebrating the Governor and how “he brings to the table a background that is very down to earth and connected with people and their daily lives, as a former teacher.” However, co-host Joe Scarborough wasn’t convinced about the “interesting pick” and expected that the choice “opens up a number of issues for the Democratic ticket to now defend.”

The Financial Times’s Ed Luce was on board with the “good pick” and praised the fact that Walz “talks in a way that isn't perceived by Republicans, or non-Democrats in general, to be looking down on them. He talks in a very engaging, everyday manner, very practical, very common sense.” 

 

 

Luce highlighted several of the Governor’s other “normal” attributes and suggested “it's very difficult to paint him as Kamala’s equivalent of J.D. Vance.” Why? Because “Vance was, as Governor Walz put it, a weird choice who talks in weird ways.” Simply put, in Luce’s opinion, “Walz is the unweird.”

Well, that’s an interesting assertion considering Walz’s very weird policies and past statements. Like the time he claimed “One person’s socialism is another person’s neighborliness,” or when he pledged to invest in a company that built ladders taller than former President Donald Trump’s border wall to ensure that illegal immigrants could run rampant through the United States. 

If that’s not weird enough, then a quick look at Walz’s radical policies on religion and sexuality certainly were. For example, in May 2023 he signed a bill that repealed protection in Minnesota for babies that were born alive after botched abortions. He signed another bill (that went into effect in January) requiring Minnesota schools to stock period products in boys' bathrooms.

Yet, Brzezinski wholeheartedly agreed with Luce’s points, adding that Walz “also brings maturity to the ticket without being too old, which I guess people talk about a lot these days, especially on the Trump side, looking as old as he has lately.” In terms of the Harris campaign itself, she further argued that “this is a younger ticket with enough wisdom and maturity to bring to the table their ideas and their vision for the country.”

But Walz is no young buck as Brzezinski would have her viewers believe. He boasts the ripe old age of 60 years old, in comparison to Senator J.D. Vance’s (R-OH) 40 years. Harris herself will be 60 years old before the election in November.

Former Missouri Senator and MSNBC contributor Claire McCaskill (D) had an abundance of honeyed words for Walz, listing his various accomplishments and gushing over his “wink…smile…and sense of humor”:

I think what really made the difference here is he's joyful when he's on the attack. He almost, you know, like, does it with a wink, and a smile, and a sense of humor when he is going after these guys. And that's what Kamala Harris needs. She needs somebody who will keep the lightness in her campaign, who will be a happy warrior. And that is Tim Walz. He is one happy warrior. I think he's a terrific pick.

Brzezinski thought McCaskill was “absolutely right” and took a turn drooling over the fact that Walz “seems to almost have a twinkle in his eye when he’s going after people,” which she harped on more than once during the segment.

Jonathan Lemire also weighed in on Walz’s “impressive resume” and lauded him as “the guy who coined weird.” “That phrase which Democrats have used so effectively against Trump and Vance and Republicans, you know, that has taken off in the last ten days or so, is from the mouth of Governor Walz on our air calling them weird,” he boasted.

The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:

MSNBC’s Morning Joe

8/6/2024

09:03:56 AM EST

MIKA BRZEZINSKI: We’ve got a couple of news organizations confirming it, including the A.P., “Breaking News: Kamala Harris picks Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as running mate as she looks to boost the Democratic ticket in the Midwest.”

JOE SCARBOROUGH: For our viewers…Yeah.

BRZEZINSKI: I was gonna say, to Ed's point, he sounds like, you know, a football coach (laughs), talking about very progressive issues. He does have–he brings to the table a background that is very down to earth and connected with people and their daily lives, as a former teacher.

SCARBOROUGH: You know, it's an interesting pick. You know, I think ironically enough, people have looked at him as the safe pick. I would disagree. This opens up a number of issues for the Democratic ticket to now defend. But this is–it looks like, according to the Associated Press–and we're still waiting at NBC news to confirm it–but the Associated Press and other news organizations, Ed, have, in fact, said it's Walz. What are your thoughts?

ED LUCE: I think it's–I think it’s a good pick, to be honest. I mean, I think Shapiro would have been as well. But, you know, he talks in a way that doesn’t–isn't perceived by Republicans, or non-Democrats in general, to be looking down on them. He talks in a very–in a very engaging, everyday manner, very practical, very common sense. 

You know, he's a hunter. You know, he shoots. He's got a pretty normal family. He's from a blue collar background. He served in the military. I think it's very difficult to paint him as Kamala’s equivalent of J.D. Vance. J.D. Vance was…

BRZEZINSKI: Right.

LUCE: …as Governor Walz put it, a weird choice who talks in weird ways. Walz is the unweird. So I think it’s gonna be pretty hard–and I would echo what Jonathan said earlier. You know, the first principle of selecting a running mate is to do no harm. I don't think he's gonna do any harm. I don't think this is gonna be a ten-day story, “why did Harris pick Walz.” I think it's gonna be a three-day story, and it’s gonna be a united Democratic Party, and he’ll be a popular choice. He’s–he communicates in a very effective, very un-fake way.

BRZEZINSKI: Yeah. And to add to Ed's point, as we bring in Claire McCaskill to this conversation–nobody better than Claire–Tim Walz also brings maturity to the ticket without being too old, which I guess people talk about a lot these days, especially on the Trump side, looking as old as he has lately. At the same time, this is a younger ticket with enough wisdom and maturity to bring to the table their ideas and their vision for the country. Claire, your thoughts on Tim Walz?

CLAIRE MCCASKILL: I think he's a great pick! I–listen, he grounds her in a way that really matters, especially for all of the country that is not on the coast. This is not a coastal elite guy. This is not an Ivy Leaguer. This is a guy who says things like, “You'd lose your hair, too, if you supervised a high school lunchroom for 20 years.” This is a guy who can give you advice on how to fix your car. This is a guy who has served 25 years in the National Guard and who has served his country admirably. 

He has been in Congress. He knows the levers of power in government and how to wield them. He's been a governor in a state that while, yes, Minnesota is blue, but it's not bright blue. I remember a time when Republicans were getting elected statewide in Minnesota. And he does have this way of communicating. 

I think what really made the difference here is he's joyful when he's on the attack. He almost, you know, like, does it with a wink, and a smile, and a sense of humor when he is going after these guys. And that's what Kamala Harris needs. She needs somebody who will keep the lightness in her campaign, who will be a happy warrior. And that is Tim Walz. He is one happy warrior. I think he's a terrific pick.

BRZEZINSKI: Yeah. And also adding to that joyful in his approach, I think you're absolutely right, Claire. He seems to almost have a twinkle in his eye when he's going after people. And let’s just put to the table, here, that we're hearing this from multiple news sources. Apparently the phone call hasn't been made, the actual conversation hasn't been had yet, but this is the choice. 

SCARBOROUGH: Yeah.

BRZEZINSKI: But it was down to two…

SCARBOROUGH. Right. Yeah. 

BRZEZINSKI: …amazing choices. And ultimately, some of these decisions have to be made in terms of who you feel most comfortable with, who you think you can work with, who you think will be the best fit on your team. 

SCARBOROUGH: Yes! Yeah.

BRZEZINSKI: That's stuff that, you know, can only be made by the candidate.

(...)

 

09:10:57 AM EST

JONATHAN LEMIRE: We're already seeing from Republicans some attack lines about Governor Walz, most importantly invoking the 2020 riots there–the Black Lives Matter riots after…

SCARBOROUGH: Right.

LEMIRE: …the George Floyd death. We’re seeing that. We’re seeing the people have already–Governor Desantis of Florida has already teamed Harris/Walz the most liberal ticket in history. But I think there are selling points to this pick as well. He is–he’s a former schoolteacher. He’s a national guardsman. He was in the House. He was governor. 

He has a very impressive resume. He is the guy who coined weird. That phrase which Democrats have used so effectively against Trump and Vance and Republicans, you know, that has taken off in the last ten days or so, is from the mouth of Governor Walz on our air…

SCARBOROUGH: Right.

LEMIRE: …calling them weird. So, that–he is an effective communicator, he’s a talented politician, no doubt, and they think that that will help them in some rural areas cut down margins of defeat. But we know–as we had Steve Kornacki on yesterday–that wasn't really the case in Minnesota itself. Walz has a libertarian streak. He is someone who I think will be good on the stump as an attack dog, in a kindly manner, but there are going to be some who think Josh Shapiro should have been the pick.

(...)