In choosing their running mates, Trump and Harris show what they value | Editorial

Vice President Kamala Harris provided voters with an early look into her deft leadership style.

Faced with the biggest decision of her brief presidential campaign, Harris ignored the favorite of many pundits and went with her gut, picking a little known governor with broad appeal to be her running mate.

Harris’ selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz reflects her campaign vision to protect freedoms, deliver justice, and expand opportunity so all Americans “cannot just get by, but get ahead.”

Harris had three strong finalists to choose from in Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Walz. Conventional wisdom said to pick Shapiro or Kelly because they were from crucial swing states.

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While advisers said Harris could win with any of the three contenders, factions within the Democratic Party opposed Shapiro and Kelly. Harris listened to the arguments and made a wise decision.

That is what good leaders do.

Harris avoided creating a rift within the party and picked Walz, who added energy and unity to the campaign. Walz’s Midwestern nice and “fun dad” likability adds to the joyful vibe Harris has brought to her campaign.

Many Democrats in Pennsylvania were disappointed she didn’t pick Shapiro. But in Walz, Harris found a running mate who excited broad constituent groups — from Sen. Joe Manchin, 76, an Independent from West Virginia to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 34, a liberal from New York.

Manchin said Walz will “bring normalcy back to Washington,” while Ocasio-Cortez called him “a uniter.”

By bringing Democrats and Independents together, Harris can continue to build on the momentum her campaign has injected into the race in the few weeks since President Joe Biden put country before personal ambition and decided not to seek reelection.

Donald Trump has tried to paint Walz as a radical liberal. But like most everything Trump says, it is a lie. Walz defeated a six-term Republican from a conservative district in Minnesota and went on to serve 12 years in the House.

Walz is a gun owner, hunter, and military veteran whose first job was working on his family’s farm. He doesn’t have an Ivy League degree and worked as a schoolteacher and football coach before entering politics.

Walz, whose father died when he was 19, knows the struggles of the working poor and the middle class.

He was first elected governor in 2018 and reelected in 2022. He proposed and signed a wide range of legislation that most Americans support, including codifying abortion rights, universal gun background checks, free college tuition for families making less than $80,000 a year, child tax credits, expanded LGBTQ rights, paid family leave, expanded voting rights, legalized marijuana, and free school meals for all children — all while maintaining a state budget surplus.

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Walz had a ready response for critics of his record: “What a monster! Kids are eating and having full bellies so they can go learn, and women are making their own health care decisions, and we’re a top five business state and we also rank in the top three of happiness.”

Walz’s substantive record and folksy style stands in stark contrast to Trump’s running mate, JD Vance.

Vance is a shape-shifter. He is from Ohio but focused his memoir on summers spent in Kentucky’s Appalachia coal region. He called graduating from Yale Law School “the coolest thing” he’d ever done but later wrote “elite universities have become expensive day care centers for coddled children.”

Vance claims to represent the white working class but worked for a white shoe law firm before moving to a venture capital firm in San Francisco. He supports deporting migrants but married the daughter of Indian immigrants.

He talks up the importance of family, but boasted about telling his 7-year-old son to “shut the hell up” because he was on the phone with Trump.

Vance, 39, is also an empty suit with limited experience. He has been a senator for 18 months and never passed a bill. That’s a concern since Vance would be one heartbeat away from an Oval Office occupied by Trump, 78, who is the oldest presidential candidate ever and has demonstrated cognitive decline.

Even more troubling, Vance’s rise in politics has been bankrolled by a handful of billionaires. His biggest supporter and mentor is Peter Thiel, a tech billionaire with an un-American worldview.

Thiel wrote: “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.” Thiel, who is also close to Trump, envisions establishing an undiscovered country in outer space or the ocean.

Vance is also a phony striver. Born James Donald Bowman, he has changed his name as often as he changed his views on Trump. He once called his running mate “America’s Hitler.”

Vance supported a national abortion ban, even in cases of rape and incest — a searing crime that he called “inconvenient.” Now he mimics Trump’s latest abortion stance, which is to let states decide.

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He pledged allegiance to Trump, not the Constitution. He got the vice presidential nod after saying that, unlike Vice President Mike Pence, he would have illegally blocked the certification of the 2020 election.

Like Trump, Vance is willing to break the law and violate his oath of office to stay in power. They make for a dangerous team beholden to the super rich.

Harris and Walz have devoted decades to public service and helping to improve the lives of everyone. Their campaign is focused on building a better future, not past grievances and retribution.

That leaves voters with a clear choice. Harris and Walz support the Constitution and the Founders’ vision of creating a more perfect union. Trump and Vance offer a convicted felon running to stay out of prison and a lackey willing to help him.