'Chills through Team MAGA': Experts applaud Kamala Harris' 'happy warrior' VP pick
Democrats erupted in cheers Tuesday as news spread that Vice President Kamala Harris named a "happy warrior" to serve as her running mate in the 2024 presidential election.
Harris' pick of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — who launched a political messaging movement by dubbing the MAGA right "weird" — spurred kudos from experts who argued he was the perfect pick to challenge Republican nominee Donald Trump and his controversial running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance.
"It should send chills through Team MAGA," argued Daily Beast columnist David Rothkopf. "Harris-Walz will be a potent messaging team...that maintains the positive energy, the joy and humor and sense of purpose of Harris so far."
Claire McCaskill, a former Democratic senator from Missouri, said on MSNBC that Walz provided Harris connection to a crucial midwestern base.
"He grounds her in a way that really matters," McCaskill. "This is not a coastal elite guy, this is not an Ivy Leaguer. This is a guy who says things like, 'You'd lose your hair too if you supervised a high school lunchroom for 20 years."
McCaskill also praised Walz's ability to skewer with a smile.
"He's joyful when he's on the attack," she said. "He almost does it with a wink and a smile and a sense of humor when he is going after these guys...Tim Walz, he is one happy warrior."
Chris D. Jackson, a member of the DNC Platform Committee, argued Walz filled the shoes of Harris' former running mate.
"Good pick," Jackson wrote on X. "He was my choice, as he reminds me of Joe Biden. Blue collar, straight talker and serious pol."
Axios reporter Stephen Neukam told readers his sources were surprised that Harris did not choose Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who governs a key swing state.
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"Cannot emphasize enough that almost every Dem strategist I talk to thought Shapiro was the right pick," he wrote. "This is surprising for many."
Harris' happy warrior pick also inspired some levity.
"Women nominees ALWAYS choose a running mate named Tim," Jeff Timmer, a former GOP strategist with the anti-Trump group Lincoln Project, wrote. "Ballz to the Walz."
MSNBC correspondent Molly Jong-Fast took a moment to share some trivia about the Minnesota governor.
"Walz hunts and ice fishes," Jong-Fast wanted her readers to know. "Walz once carved a school bus out of butter."