Donald Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance tried to stoke a split Democrats are hoping to avoid, claiming Kamala Harris didn’t pick Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro due to ‘antisemitism’ in her own party.
Vance made the comment as some Republican strategists welcomed the selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, believing Democrats left one of their top talents on the bench by picking the more understated – some say boring – Walz as her running mate.
‘Well, look, if it’s not, Josh Shapiro … I think that they will have not picked Shapiro, frankly, out of anti-Semitism in their own caucus and in their own party. I think it’s disgraceful that the Democrats have gotten to this point where it’s even an open conversation, and it is an open conversation,’ Vance told conservative talk host Hugh Hewitt Tuesday morning.
That came after Hewitt told his guest that ‘if it isn’t Josh Shapiro, if they pick Tim Walz, who makes Justin Timberlake seem like he’s really the most boring man in America. If it’s not Josh Shapiro, and that’s because he’ll be Jewish and because he is a supporter of Israel.’
In Shapiro, Harris had a potential running mate who had outperformed Joe Biden in his home state, and might have helped Harris even in three congressional districts held by Republicans.
But his candidacy was already drawing pushback from the party’s progressive wing, and there were risks it could agitate a substantial faction of the party that has been angered by the Biden administration’s support for Israel amid its war on Hamas in Gaza.
‘They saw what happened during the campus protests during the spring. They saw how fractured their base was,’ said a Republican strategist, citing protests and Biden opposition during the primaries in Dearborn, Michigan.
‘They feared that if Shapiro was going to be the pick those people were going to sit at home,’ the strategist added.
‘I think Shapiro would have done very, very well. And such a much more dynamic political talent than Walz is. Walz I think of the equivalent of like [Virginia Sen.] Tim Kaine. Very boring. Not going to lose it for her but definitely not going to win it for her.’
Biden and Harris have been encountering pro-Palestinian protesters at events ever since Biden launched his campaign, although the protest movement for ‘uncommitted’ died down after Biden’s primary wins and his eventual decision to step back from his run.
Republicans still believe there is background information on Walz, who served 12 years in the House before capturing the Minnesota governorship.
Trump tried to brand him as ‘dangerously liberal’ in a fundraising email that said would ‘unleash HELL ON EARTH.’
Republicans were circulating a clip of Walls telling supporters: ‘Don’t ever shy away from our progressive values. One person’s socialism is another person’s neighborliness.’
That came after he urged Democrats to find ways to reach out to MAGA supporters. ‘These are our neighbors and our relatives, and at heart they’re good people,’ he said on a fundraising call.
‘Tim Walz? What a relief,’ wrote former Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway.
The Republican National Committee is already racing to define Walz, calling him ‘extremely “woke”‘ and saying he ‘hesitated to commit the Minnesota National Guard for three days while the Twin Cities burned during the riots that followed George Floyd’s death.’
A Democratic strategist described some of the anti-pressure Harris was getting before her selection. ‘I can see them looking at the explosion of enthusiasm from young people and being spooked out of nominating him if it risks bringing Gaza back into the conversation,’ the strategist told Politico.
There were reasons for Harris to go with the little known Walz. He helped pioneer the ‘weird’ attack on Donald Trump. His selection won’t antagonize her base. And while his state hasn’t gone Republican since 1972, he has an ability to campaign in rural areas where Democrats have been losing ground.
The 60-year-old Army National Guard vet is a former geography teacher and high school football coach with home-spun mannerisms who can still launch an attack, calling Trump and Vance ‘a robber baron real estate guy and a venture capitalist trying to tell us they understand who we are.’
Harris in her official announcement called him ‘a battle-tested leader who has an incredible track record of getting things done for Minnesota families. I know that he will bring that same principled leadership to our campaign, and to the office of the vice president.’
Trump posted a two-word missive on his Truth Social platform Tuesday morning shortly after Harris announced her selection of Walz.
‘THANK YOU!’ he wrote.