Some reporters and pundits were skeptical of Vice President Kamala Harris’ choice for her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, suggesting he wasn’t a « safe pick. »
While there was plenty of progressives happy about Kamala Harris’ choice for vice president in Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the choice was also met with some skepticism from anti-Trump media members on Tuesday, including the suggestion he wasn’t a « safe pick. »
CNN commentator Van Jones pondered Tuesday that antisemitism in the Democratic Party influenced Harris’ decision not to choose Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish.
« Is it just because he’s a moderate or is there some anti-Jewish bias here? » Jones asked following the news that Harris picked Walz.
« You also have antisemitism that has gotten marbled into this party. You can be for the Palestinians without being an anti-Jewish bigot, but there are some anti-Jewish bigots out there », Jones said later in the exchange. « And there’s some disquiet now – and there has to be – how much of what just happened is caving in to some of these darker parts of the party? »
Jones said there was a lot of rejoicing from conservatives over the Walz choice, which he said was « not good. »
« What worries me is you see a lot of relief from the conservatives. They were scared of Josh Shapiro. They were scared of [Arizona Sen.] Mark Kelly. They thought that would help define Kamala more to the middle. You see a lot of rejoicing on the right », he said.
Former Ohio governor and MSNBC contributor John Kasich said the choice pushed the Democratic ticket further to the left.
« I think Shapiro would have helped them. I was surprised they picked this gentleman », he said. « I think by picking Walz, they have sort of labeled themselves, ideologically, as progressive.
