Obama takes subtle swipe at Vance while praising Walz as ‘ideal’ Harris running mate

Former President Barack Obama released a statement Tuesday celebrating Vice President Kamala Harris’s selection for her running mate in the 2024 election.

Commenting on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who will be running for vice president alongside Harris, Obama took a swipe at former President Donald Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD. Vance from Ohio.

‘When a presidential candidate chooses a running mate, it says a lot about who they are and what kind of president they’ll be. Do they pick someone inexperienced and polarizing who will deepen our divisions?’ Obama asked. ‘Or do they pick someone with the judgment to make tough decisions, and the character to believe that every voice counts and everyone deserves an equal chance?’

The former president seemed to frame his statement in line with fellow Democrats’ accusations that Vance is ‘weird’ and out of touch with U.S. voters.

The freshman senator from Ohio has made headlines with his criticisms of ‘childless cat ladies’ running the federal government — a quip lamenting what Vance sees as anti-family policies.

Democrats have used that sound bite and others to paint Vance as a hostile or mean-spirited running mate.

‘Tim’s signature is his ability to talk like a human being and treat everyone with decency and respect,’ Obama said. ‘Not all that surprising considering the fact that he served in the National Guard for 24 years and worked as a high school social studies teacher and football coach before being elected to Congress.’

The naming of the 60-year-old Walz was not a shocker, as his name was instantly thought to be in contention in the two weeks since Harris succeeded President Biden as the party’s standard-bearer.

Walz, a former congressman, is in his second term as governor of Minnesota, a state that Democrats have reliably won in presidential elections for decades but that the Trump campaign has aimed at flipping this cycle.

‘I am proud to announce that I’ve asked [Tim Walz] to be my running mate,’ Harris officially announced on X Tuesday. ‘As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he’s delivered for working families like his.’

‘It’s personal,’ she said. ‘He grew up in a small town in Nebraska, spending summers working on his family’s farm. His father died of cancer when he was 19, and his family relied on Social Security survivor benefit checks to make ends meet. At 17, he enlisted in the National Guard, serving for 24 years. He used his GI Bill benefits to go to college, and become a teacher.’ 

Having the plainspoken Walz on the national ticket not only helps Harris in Minnesota, it also benefits the vice president in the two neighboring Midwestern battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan.

Walz, the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, may also help Harris when it comes to bringing in campaign cash, as he has helped steer the DGA to record-breaking fundraising this year.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser, Brooke Singman, Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.