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Here’s How Ilhan Omar Reacted to Harris’ VP Pick

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  August 06, 2024 1:00 PM

On Tuesday morning, Vice President Kamala Harris announced that she had selected Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) as her running mate. Not long after, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), a fellow Minnesotan, posted a couple of responses to the announcement. 

Omar put out a generic enough post about herself and the governor that listed some of his more moderate positions, though he has plenty of radical ones. When it comes to "protections for reproductive rights into law," though, Minnesota allows for women to have an abortion up until birth. Walz also repealed a law that required providing medical care to babies born alive from abortions.

The post also claimed Walz is "Bringing Minnesota nice to the ticket[.]"

It's not just that one would expect more of a reaction from Omar about Walz, given that they're both from Minnesota. In picking a more far-left governor, Harris also skipped over Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) despite how he had been walking back his support for Israel.

"Not exactly a coveted endorsement," Adam Rubenstein noted in a quoted repost of Omar.

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Many other replies ad quoted reposts, including from the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) pointed to Omar's support for Walz as a reason to be concerned about the Harris-Walz ticket.

"Governor Walz embraces the most vicious anti-Israel and antisemitic Member of Congress, Ilhan Omar," a post from the RJC read in part. 

Other Squad members expressed their delight at such a pick. 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) called it "an excellent decision," also claiming Harris and Walz "will govern effectively, inclusively, and boldly for the American people" and "won’t back down under tight odds, either." Her post also went for some of his less radical positions, mentioning "from healthcare to school lunch."

Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) expressed her excitement by focusing on Walz's being "a former public school teacher" and claiming he "has never forgotten the people."

Perhaps the most enthusiastic reaction from a member of the Squad came from Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL), who has posted several posts and reposted several others expressing her support for Walz. 

In addition to her repost from the UAW, Ramirez noted in her post that she was excited to work with [Walz] to advance a working people's agenda and win this November."

Although he's a lame duck member, considering that he lost his primary in June by double digits, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) posted a video message in which he, like Pressley, was particularly excited about Walz having a background in public education. 

"Let's go!" Bowman yelled many times throughout the brief video.

Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) has yet to post about the pick, although she is facing a primary on Tuesday that she could very likely lose against DA Wesley Bell. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) has also not yet posted, and her most recent posts concern Tuesday's Michigan primary. Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), who defeated a primary challenger in April, has also not posted about Walz, but instead, has focused on supporting Bush. Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) has not posted in days.