(NewsNation) — They might not always see eye-to-eye politically, but NewsNation political contributor Mick Mulvaney says Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate is “one of the nicest guys you’re going to meet.”
“We disagree on policy probably 90% of the time, but Tim Walz is the guy that you want to go to dinner with,” Mulvaney said of the Democratic Minnesota governor.
Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff under former President Donald Trump, served with Walz in Congress for six years. The two even had lockers next to each other.
Like Mulvaney, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, and Walz’s politics are also very different, though they get along.
“I like him,” Pawlenty said.
Walz’s congressional district, Mulvaney recalled on “NewsNation Live,” was relatively centrist and mostly made up of farmers.
“He knows how to speak to folks who aren’t as left-wing as he is,” Mulvaney said, though said Walz has been a more progressive governor than congressman.
What Mulvaney said he’ll be watching for as the campaign continues with the addition of Walz is whether he can balance the vice presidential candidate’s traditional role as an “attack dog” for the presidential nominee with his personality.
“(He’s) just a nice sort of fellow,” Mulvaney said.
Walz’s political record
Mulvaney acknowledged the Harris-Walz team, made up of a California and Minnesota Democrat, is “very, very liberal progressive ticket.”
“I think he’s just a little bit more liberal than folks realize,” Mulvaney said. This means, he added, that Republicans will likely attack Walz on policy.
“We still have a weakness on abortion, but when it comes to the economy, when it comes to the immigration, Walz is not really going to help the Harris ticket on those fronts,” Mulvaney said.
Pawlenty called Walz “ultraliberal.”
Walz’s voting record in Congress was seen as moderate, Pawlenty said. In his first years as governor, Walz had a balanced record as well, Pawlenty said, because of Minnesota’s partially Republican state legislature.
“When they got full control, when he could do what he wanted to do, it was pedal to the metal, full progressive agenda, and that’s what he really is most proud of,” Pawlenty said. “I think that’s probably what snagged him the VP place.”
