Michael Steele Claims Tim Walz Is ‘Far From Progressive,’ Says Race Against JD Vance Is ‘Hillbilly Elegy Against Real Hillbilly’

MSNBC political analyst Michael Steele argued on Tuesday that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), now Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate, is the perfect contrast to Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance.

“I think you got the Hillbilly Elegy against the real hillbilly. That’s going to be Yale versus the guy who actually spent all of his time on the ground fixing F-150s,” Steele said, referring to Vance’s best-selling book Hillbilly Elegy, which was turned into a Netflix film in 2020.

Vance argued on Tuesday that Walz is a progressive and shows how “radical” Harris is. Steele, the former chair of the Republican National Committee, pushed back against this, claiming Walz is “far from progressive.”

“I don’t buy the top line that some are pushing out that this is now a progressive ticket. Look at his voting record in the Congress, he’s far from progressive and last time I checked feeding kids lunch and breakfast was not a progressive or conservative thing, it was what a governor should do with the students in his state,” he said, referring to Walz overseeing universal free meals in schools as governor.

The more “ticklish issue,” Steele added, will be Walz’s response to riots in his state in the summer of 2020 following the murder of George Floyd in police custody.

Steele called Walz a “strong pick” and a more unique choice than other frontrunners for the job, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D).

“What it says about Kamala is she’s willing to go against the grain a little bit too and I think that bodes well for how she may set up her administration,” he said.

Watch above via MSNBC.