MSNBC host Joe Scarborough didn’t appear to be exactly overjoyed with Kamala Harris’ choice of running mate on Tuesday.
Morning Joe was on the air as news broke that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz would be joining the vice president on the Democratic ticket. Scarborough, who seemed to think Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was the better choice, did not hold back in sharing some reservations about choosing Walz both before and after it became clear that is what Harris was doing.
Scarborough described Shapiro as “the most gifted speaker” of the candidates still in the field, adding that he and Harris together could mark a “really dynamic, striking generational shift.” The host said he and his co-host wife, Mika Brzezinski, have “both been very impressed by Governor Walz,” but added that “there is a reason … the left wing likes him.”
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“It seems that progressives love Walz,” Scarborough said later in the show, still before Walz had been confirmed as Harris’ running mate. “He is a progressive. There wouldn’t be a lot of ideological balance there between Kamala Harris and Governor Walz if she does in fact announce that it is Governor Walz, as many suspect.”
“You would have two people that are viewed as progressives inside the Democratic Party instead of an ideological mix which you might have with Shapiro,” he said. “Is this the whole idea, that they’re going to excite the base and this is going to be a base election, they don’t care what moderates in Pennsylvania and other states think?”
Earlier in the week, Scarborough called Shapiro the “governor of the most important state in this election” in a post on X, adding that Shapiro “will be ready to serve on Day 1.” The TV host also defended Shapiro from recent attacks which he said were motivated by “a toxic mix of antisemitism, extremist views on Gaza, and jealous colleagues who don’t want to be blocked out of the presidential sweepstakes for the next decade.”
“It would certainly be seen as a safer choice, going with Tim Walz instead of Josh Shapiro who faced backlash from progressives, faced backlash from people who didn’t like the fact that he was Jewish,” Scarborough said on the show Tuesday, echoing his earlier defense of the governor. He added that Shapiro had been criticized for his position on Gaza “when in fact the governor of Minnesota has been at least as pro-Israeli and more supportive of Benjamin Netanyahu.”
When the news that it was Walz finally came in, Scarborough wasn’t thrilled.
“The candidate has to make the decision herself,” he conceded. “And I will tell you, the candidate that I’m most comfortable with is the candidate that helps me win Pennsylvania in 2024. So let us hope… that those outside of Pittsburgh love Tim Walz.”
“If you just followed what politicians have been saying in the Democratic Party, he is a darling of progressives,” Scarborough said later. “He’s a darling of the left and they were lobbying very hard for a progressive ticket with a progressive in the No. 1 and a progressive in the No. 2 slot. That’s exactly what they got.”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi didn’t seem to buy that take when she appeared on the show a couple of minutes later.
“Tim Walz I know very well, he served in the House,” Pelosi said. “To characterize him as left is so unreal … He’s right down the middle. He’s a heartland of America Democrat.”
