Sarah Burris is a long-time veteran of political campaigns, having worked as a fundraiser and media director across the United States. She transitioned into reporting while working for Rock the Vote, Future Majority and Wiretap Magazine, covering the Millennial Generation's perspective during the presidential elections. As a political writer, Burris has had bylines at CNN, Salon.com, BNR, and AlterNet and serves as a senior digital editor for RawStory.com.
At the top of her Tuesday show, Wallace showed clips of Walz's comments on cable news for the past week, including one with CNN's Jake Tapper, in which the host asked if Donald Trump would slap him with an insult like a "big government liberal."
"Oh, what a monster, kids are eating and having full bellies so they can go learn and women are making their own health care decisions, and we're a top-five business state," said Walz sarcastically.
"So, if that's where they want to label me, I'm more than happy to take the label," continued Walz.
Wallace beamed as the cameras came back to her from the clip.
"He had me at 'what a monster,'" she said. "I mean, this has been absent for really eight years in the politics of Trumpism. You want to turn it on me, 'Oh, yes, what a monster I am, feeding kids, educating them, and, by the way, top five states in the country for the economy.'"
Professor and commentator Dr. Basil Smikle, Jr. called the Harris campaign "smart" for the choice and how they made it.
"Because Tim Walz represents so much of what we haven't been hearing in the last several years, certainly coming from the right. And if there's something that you might miss about Joe Biden not being on the ticket, this man has it. Because, as Claire McCaskill talked about, [he's] somebody that you might want to hug. He has said, the way out of all of this is through grace and optimism. What he's talking about is empathy. That kind of empathy for all Americans."