Who is Tim Walz? Meet Kamala’s hard left socialist running mate

On paper, Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ vice presidential pick looks a safe bet but as James Morrow explains, scratch the surface the Minnesota Governor is a very controversial choice indeed.

Welcome to the most left-wing Democrat ticket in modern memory.

Kamala Harris, a progressive California Democrat who supported defund the police movements and urged people not to use the term “radical Islamic terrorist” as just picked the self-described socialist governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, as her running mate.

The selection represents a cold political calculation by the Harris camp.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has been tapped as Kamala Harris’ vice presidential running mate. Picture: AFP

A 60-year-old white male, on the surface Walz appears to be exactly the sort of safe and bland figure to balance Harris with her diverse background, goofy laughs, and middle-aged millennial personality.

But under the surface, this was a pick that was about cementing a ticket that is pro-Palestine, pro-open borders, and owned by the hard left of the Democrat party.

Unlike Pennsylvania’s hyper-smart Josh Shapiro, who is said to have been a close also-ran in the veepstakes, there is no chance that Walz will overshadow Harris on the stump.

Nor, unlike Shapiro who makes no bones about his Jewish faith, will Walz’s presence on the ticket upset what can only be called the pro-Hamas wing of the Democrat party.

A half-Jamaican, half-Indian woman is apparently all very well and good for the Democrats, but in 2024 the party of tolerance finds being Jewish all just a little too much.

Kamala Harris has picked Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. Picture: AFP

But scratch the surface and Walz looks very controversial indeed – and his pick is going to give Republicans a big target to aim at.

Within minutes of the announcement, Trump supporters were circulating a clip of Walz praising socialism on X.

“Don’t ever shy away from our progressive values,” Walz can be seen saying in the undated footage. “One person’s socialism is another person’s neighbourliness.”

Walz was also governor of Minnesota, which was ground zero for the riots that shook America in 2020 after the death of George Floyd.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz pictured with US President Joe Biden last year. Picture: AFP

While he eventually moved to restore order, for days rioters ran unchecked through the streets of the state capital, Minneapolis, burning buildings and looting as they went.

At the time, the city’s mayor Jacob Frey attacked Walz for moving to slowly to call out the National Guard after Walz tried to blame local officials for the crisis.

But while, according to his critics, Walz was too soft on looters in Minneapolis, during the Covid pandemic he was draconian when it came to anyone who broke his state’s harsh lockdown restrictions – even setting up a hotline for Minnesotans to dob in neighbours for breaking the rules.

The more one examines Walz’s positions, the more weird (to borrow a phrase currently being deployed against Republicans) his selection looks.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz could pose problems for Kamala Harris’ election chances. Picture: Getty Images/AFP

Pick a progressive position and this grandfatherly figure has been right there behind it – from drivers’ licenses for illegal aliens to signing a bill requiring schools to stock period products in boys’ bathrooms.

If the Democrats’ plan here was to recreate the Obama-Biden ticket, with Walz taking up the role of kindly, avuncular uncle, they have made a big mistake.

If Harris allowed herself to be bullied into picking Walz over Shapiro by the party’s hard left, the error looks even bigger, because it makes her look weak.

Even if Harris keeps hiding from the press, Walz’s record will give Republicans fodder for weeks to paint the ticket as radically hard left and out of step with mainstream America.

Originally published as Who is Tim Walz? Meet Kamala’s hard left socialist running mate