Nancy Pelosi Insists Tim Walz Is ‘Right Down the Middle’ After Joe Scarborough Describes VP Candidate as ‘Progressive’

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) insisted Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), now Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate, is “right down the middle” and it’s “mystifying” to see some on the her own side describe him as otherwise.

Pelosi joined Morning Joe on Tuesday just minutes after the Walz news broke. She defended Walz as a “heartland of America” Democrat following a segment in which Joe Scarborough called Walz a “progressive” and Andrew Ross Sorkin described disappointed texts from CEOs who were “hoping against hope” that Harris would choose Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D).

“To characterize him as left is so unreal. He’s right down the middle. He’s a heartland of America Democrat and he was the chair of our Veterans Affairs Committee,” Pelosi said, going on to note Walz’s years in the National Guard.

Pelosi called herself a “big fan” of Shapiro and said Harris had “wonderful” options, but she argued Walz has the best experience to bring to the job.

“Really it’s mystifying to me to see someone that I worked with, shall we say, right down the middle characterized on the left in this regard,” she said.

Scarborough and Sorkin dove into the differences and different perceptions of Shapiro and Walz in the previous segment with Scarborough calling Shapiro a “moderate” compared to “progressive” Walz.

“One of the reasons the Trump campaign feared Josh Shapiro is because of his contacts in the business community. He was actually seen as a moderate,” he said. “He was okay with progressives as far as in the Democratic Party, but he was seen as a moderate from Pennsylvania. I can’t even begin to imagine what the business community is going to think about a progressive.”

Watch above via MSNBC.