Late last week, it seemed all but certain that Kamala Harris was going to select Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as her running mate. He is the popular governor of a crucial swing state, and her campaign chose Philadelphia as the site for the kickoff event at which Harris would appear with her vice presidential pick for the first time.
But alas, Shapiro was beat out in the so-called ‘veepstakes’ by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the lesser known leader of the historically ‘blue wall’ state with a progressive resume that appeals to the far-left reaches of the Democrat Party.
So, what changed? On Wednesday’s show, Megyn was joined by Mark Halperin, editor-in-chief and host of 2WAY, to discuss what went on behind closed doors in the final days of Harris’ VP search that led to Walz getting the nod over Shapiro.
The ‘Easy’ Choice
As Halperin explained, Harris’ decision – which was made on a highly expedited timeline due to her late entry into the race – came down to the wire and she ultimately made the “easy” choice in Walz.
“The totality of what I know suggests she chose him because he didn’t come with much trouble beyond his very liberal record as governor,” he shared. “And while she was headed down a path to choosing Josh Shapiro, there are a bunch of things – some issue-oriented, some personality, some based on her meeting with him – that made it clear that, on deadline… one guy was easy and the other guy was hard. One guy had vast, almost universal popularity within the party, the other guy, turns out, has some enemies within the party.”
In picking Walz, Halperin said, Harris “went with the path of least resistance” – even if it meant “taking the risk” on his “liberal issue positions.” In doing so, she is “avoiding a lot of landmines that picking Shapiro would have brought.”
Shapiro vs. Walz
Many believe that those “landmines” included Shapiro’s heritage. “There is still a lot of speculation that the thing that did Shapiro in was, effectively, his last name… Because Walz has been pretty pro-Israel, as has Shapiro, but one of them is Jewish and one of them isn’t,” Megyn explained. “And while Shapiro may have had his detractors in the Democratic Party, like [Pennsylvania Sen.] John Fetterman… it is Pennsylvania that is far more important and in question on this electoral map than Minnesota.”
While Halperin admitted it was likely “a factor,” he believes it was one of many. “It was a piece of this umbrella notion that Shapiro had a lot of issues,” he said. “I believe she was on track to pick them as recently as a week ago, but what happened in that intervening week? It was disclosed by Fetterman… through aides… that he thought he was too ambitious. That is a view held by a lot of senators and governors… [and] he has rubbed some people the wrong way.”
Harris reportedly met with Walz, Shapiro, and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly in person on Sunday before making her final decision, and it was during those sit downs that Halperin said she got a better sense of each man’s ‘ambition.’
“It was a tale of two prospects: One [Shapiro] who does what a normal, ambitious potential vice presidential candidate does, and says, ‘Let’s talk about this. What’s the campaign going to be like? How many of my people can I bring in? If we do win, what’s my role as vice president?’ These are questions people like John Edwards and Al Gore, when they were up to be on the ticket, asked,” Halperin explained. “There is this famous thing now that if your vice president, you demand that you’re the last person in the room with the president when a decision is being made.”
On that latter point, Halperin said Walz took a contrarian approach. “His position was, ‘Hey, you want me to be the last person in the room? Great. If you don’t, all good,'” he shared. “So, one guy [Shapiro] divides the party on Israel but also on personality, on school choice, on a bunch of issues, and the other guy was endorsed by Bernie Sanders and Joe Manchin.”
The Net-Net
All of this, in Halperin’s view, made the governor of the North Star State the obvious choice under the circumstances. “I haven’t heard a single Democrat express anything but enthusiasm about the pick,” he concluded. “So, on deadline, she could pick the guy where it’s like… no enemies, no threat of disrupting the convention, or the other guy with a long list of potential problems, one of which was his last name.”
Ultimately, it all goes back to the same “umbrella notion,” he concluded, which is: “One guy is easy” and “one guy is hard.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Halperin by tuning in to episode 857 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.