NEW YORK — Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Tuesday said Vice President Harris’s selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as her running mate makes it “easier” for Republicans to run against the Democratic ticket in November.
Johnson — speaking to The Hill during a wide-ranging interview in New York City — labeled Walz a “far-left candidate and choice,” arguing that his ascension as the vice presidential nominee reflects the liberal bent of the Democrats’ campaign.
That dynamic, Johnson argued, will make it easier for Republicans to notch wins come November.
“It makes it easier for us,” Johnson said. “He is a far-left candidate and choice. I frankly thought that she might try to choose a moderate, but obviously she has proven once again who she is. We refer to Kamala Harris as a San Francisco radical because she is.”
The Speaker pointed to Harris’s liberal voting record during her time in the Senate, claiming that “she has radical positions that do not line up with the American people.”
“I think the choice of Walz, I think just further verifies that,” he said.
“Our challenges in the election cycle is to make those positions known and not let them obscure, try to obscure their record, which they’re already attempting to do,” he added. "And the more that Kamala talks the better off we are. I think they recognize that so they’re trying to keep her hidden and keep her on a teleprompter and very scripted. And we have a window of time to ensure that the American people are fully informed about who they really are."
Harris selected Walz to serve as her running mate Tuesday, ending weeks of speculation over who her No. 2 on the ticket would be. Walz, who has served as governor of Minnesota since 2019, was being considered for the job alongside Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) of Pennsylvania and Sen. Mark Kelly (D) of Arizona.
Harris, in choosing Walz as the vice presidential candidate, pointed to the Minnesotan's “impressive” background, adding that “you see in no uncertain terms how it informs his record.”
The comments from Johnson — the top Republican in Congress — offer an early preview of the messaging the GOP will use against Walz, which is already starting to center on attacks that he is too liberal. The governor, who spent 12 years in the House, has a liberal policy record but could also be appealing in conservative circles for his distinction as the highest-ranking enlisted soldier in the history of Congress and for being a gun owner.
Several Republicans have said they are breathing a sigh of relief at the news of Harris selecting Walz, in part because of Shapiro’s large appeal in Pennsylvania, a critical battleground state.
Johnson on Tuesday said “clearly Shapiro would have been a smarter choice” for Harris, but he argued that she did not choose him because of his Jewish heritage and because "they’re having a split in the Democratic Party" over Israel.
Shapiro, who was the leading Jewish figure on Harris’s VP shortlist, had drawn the ire of some on the far left, who criticized his stance on the Israel-Hamas war. Shapiro’s supporters quickly pointed out that the governor’s stance on the conflict was akin to that of other VP contenders, arguing that he was being singled out because of his Judaism.
“I didn’t expect that she would do it,” Johnson said of selecting a more moderate running mate, “because she has proven, once again, to be true to her principles and her priorities, and they're not aligned with the American people.”
“And I think the choice of Walz is a clear sign of that,” he added. “They have no intention of moderating. They would double down on the failed policies of the Biden-Harris administration. Harris, by nature, is far more progressive and radical than Joe Biden is, and now she’ll have a willing accomplice. I think that has a clear danger for the American people.”
