Harris Picked Tim Walz Over Buttigieg, Citing Risk

In excerpts from her memoir 107 Days and a television interview with Rachel Maddow, former Vice President Kamala Harris said Pete Buttigieg was her “first choice” as a 2024 running mate but that she ultimately chose Gov. Tim Walz because pairing a Black woman presidential candidate with a gay vice presidential pick in a 107‑day campaign against Donald Trump was “too big of a risk.” Maddow, who is openly gay, pressed Harris, calling the passage “hard to hear,” and Harris defended the decision as a tactical calculation made under intense time pressure rather than personal prejudice, noting her long record as an LGBTQ ally and saying she may have been “too cautious.” Harris praised Buttigieg as “a phenomenal… public servant” and expressed sadness about sidelining him. Buttigieg said he was surprised by Harris’s comments and argued that voter trust is earned by the work done for people’s lives, not by identity categories. Critics and commentators have debated whether the decision reflected political prudence or a retreat from LGBTQ inclusion.