Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear gave Kamala Harris a full-throated endorsement Monday—then auditioned to be her running mate.
The red-state two-term governor went on Morning Joe shortly after 8 a.m., making him the first of the potential running mates to openly tout their candidacy.
“I don’t know how that process is gonna be, but it’s flattering to be a part of it,” Beshear said when asked if he was interested in being her VP pick.
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Beshear, 46, thanked President Joe Biden, 81, “for being a phenomenal president” who helped “secure his legacy” by putting country over party and deciding to step aside for re-election.
The Kentucky governor then endorsed Harris for president shortly thereafter.
“With that, I am excited to fully endorse Vice President Harris for the next president of the United States,” Beshear said, calling Harris “smart” and “strong.”
Roy Cooper, the 67-year-old governor of North Carolina, said “the focus needs to be on her this week” when asked about Harris and the prospect of being her running mate. He also said the two had a productive phone call Sunday night in which they talked about how to win the race.
Notably, Beshear went out of his way to needle former President Donald Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH). The 39-year-old’s memoir Hillbilly Elegy and his speech to the Republican National Convention last week both saw him put his family’s roots in Kentucky at the center of his story.
“I want the American people to know what a Kentuckian is and what they look like, because let me just tell you that J.D. Vance ain’t from here,” Beshear said, offering a possible preview of the vice presidential debate sometime before the second week of August.
“The nerve that he has to call the people of Kentucky, of Eastern Kentucky, lazy—these are the hardworking coal miners that powered the Industrial Revolution,” Beshear continued, “that created the strongest middle class the world has ever seen, powered us through two world wars. We should be thanking them, not calling them lazy.”
Beshear demurred when co-host Willie Geist asked if he would be interested in serving as Harris’ running mate.
“Well, I think if somebody calls you on that,” he said, “what you do is, at least, listen.”
