Vice President Kamala Harris stands by her unexpected decision to pick Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate in a moment of pressure.
Speaking with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle on Wednesday, Sept. 25, during a special edition of All In with Chris Hayes, the Democratic presidential nominee was asked about the last time she had to make a gut decision, given that presidents are continually forced to trust their instincts on the job.
“The biggest gut decision I made most recently was to choose my running mate,” Harris replied. “There were lots of good, incredible candidates, and ultimately that came down to a gut decision.
While each of those people, and several others, were on Harris’ shortlist, Walz emerged as a last-minute finalist after a series of TV appearances and viral social media moments revealed him to be an astute spokesperson for her platform.
In the end it came down to Walz and the more buttoned-up Shapiro. Harris chose Walz.
During an abbreviated campaign cycle after her late entry into the presidential race, Harris has spent a significant amount of time on the road rallying enthusiasm in battleground states and familiarizing voters with her platform.
In the process she has clarified her position on the Second Amendment (“I’m a gun owner, Tim Walz is a gun owner”), vowed to restore the abortion protections once afforded by Roe v. Wade (“Donald Trump is the architect of this crisis”), and argued to Trump that she would be more respected on foreign policy matters than him (“So many military leaders that you have worked with have told me that you are a disgrace”).
Since assuming her position at the top of the Democratic ticket in President Joe Biden’s place, Harris has given Democrats a noteworthy boost in nationwide polling and — according to NBC News — the vice president saw the largest surge in favorability ratings, up 16 points, since President George W. Bush after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Despite her upward trajectory the presidential race appears to remain in a dead heat, with pollsters suggesting that Trump only narrowly trails Harris. In the 2016 and 2020 elections, Trump wildly outperformed poll predictions.
