How Tim Walz cracked the Kamala Harris interview for running-mate job

Tim Walz sat across the table with Kamala Harris's vetting team for the biggest interview of his life. Harris was undecided on who would be her running mate. What followed was a conversation which finally swayed Harris's team to pick Walz. “I’m at the end of my career. This is not about me. This is about America’s working families,” Walz said, reported Politico. Nobody could have imagined a Harris-Walz ticket.

This chatter was started by Minnesota Representative Betty McCollum. People smiled or even chuckled at the time. But when Harris arrived at the centre stage, McCollum and her colleagues began rallying behind Walz. They were whispering, "he is a good guy" everywhere. Their dream came true finally after Harris's interview of Walz.

Walz was what Harris had been looking for. But how did Walz crack the interview?

WHAT TIM WALZ TOLD KAMALA HARRIS IN THE INTERVIEW

He said he did not have the ambition to become President. “And if I have to run through a brick wall, if I have to do the hard things,” Walz added, “I’m willing to do it because I’m not angling for anything else.”

He said another thing. He did not use a teleprompter and did not even have one, reported CNN. If they wanted him to use one, they would have to get it for him.

He also shared his vulnerabilities, he said he was not from a swing state or popular in the US. He also added, he wasn't a great debater.

But, he was a team player. He would do as he was told. He was asked if he would want to be the last person in the room before Harris made a call. He said only if she wanted him to be.

“He had a very clear understanding that it was to be a partner, but to support the president, go out and connect with America and be that governing partner,” said Cedric Richmond, a former Louisiana Congressman and Biden White House adviser told CNN.

PROGRESSIVE, TEAM PLAYER AND GOOD GUY WALZ

Walz won a rural district. Harris won from San Francisco. He became popular when he called Republicans "weird" on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

“Progressives see him as a trustworthy guy. He has bipartisan credibility that moderates respect,” said someone involved in the process of picking a VP.

“He is going to be just so flabbergasted and delightfully excited about even being a candidate for vice president. He’s not going to overshadow Kamala Harris,” said Representative Ann Kuster, Democrat representing New Hampshire.

“She’s the commander-in-chief and that’s the way he’ll govern with her.”

Walz had many supporters, even Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi was full of praise for Walz, sources close to her told Politico. She also said not to "sleep on" Walz, sources revealed.

“I let it be known early on in the process,” said Democratic Representative from California, Mark Takano.

Walz, a teacher, gathered the support of the national labour front. Shawn Frain, the leader of the United Auto Workers Union, was vocal about his support for Walz. He even said it on TV.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, also supported Walz.

"By picking someone who was not coastal but who was in the middle of the country" and "plainspoken", Weingarten said, Harris "sent a message about the working class being important".

Democrats needed someone connected to rural roots, Harris needed a running mate who would not question her authority, the Labour scene needed someone who understood them, progressives needed someone who did not support Israel too openly and all these prayers had been answered with -- Tim Walz.