Dem VP candidate Tim Walz spoke for 1/4 of Kamala Harris’ first high-stakes interview

Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz took up roughly a quarter of the time during Kamala Harris’ first high-stakes interview since she became the party’s nominee for president.

In total, the Minnesota governor clocked seven minutes of speaking time as he sat alongside his running mate for the interview with CNN’s Dana Bash Thursday night.

The entire Harris-Walz interview — not including pre-recorded segments — lasted about 27 minutes, according to The Post’s tracking of the broadcast.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz spoke for a quarter of Kamala Harris’ high-stakes CNN interview Thursday, according to reports. Will Lanzoni/CNN
Much of Walz’s speaking time during the sit-down was being asked to address the controversy surrounding exaggerated claims he had combat experience from his 24-year stint in the National Guard.
Will Lanzoni/CNN

The clock tally comes after Harris, 59, had already faced blowback over the decision to bring her No. 2 to her first formal interview since President Biden dropped his re-election bid last month.

In the lead up, Republican and conservative critics had accused the vice president of using Walz, 60, as a crutch in the face of anticipated questions scrutinizing her record amid the race for the White House.

Much of Walz’s speaking time during the sit-down was allocated to him being asked to address the controversy surrounding exaggerated claims he had combat experience from his 24-year stint in the National Guard.  

Walz made the misleading claim that he’d carried “weapons of war … in war” in an anti-gun violence video in 2018 that only recently resurfaced.

Tim Walz during basic training for the Army National Guard in the summer of 1981 at Fort Benning, Georgia. US Army
The entire Harris-Walz interview lasted about 27 minutes, according to The Post’s tracking of the broadcast. Will Lanzoni/CNN

Asked to address the remarks Thursday, Walz blamed his “passion” and “grammar” — adding that he got carried away because they were talking about school shootings at the time.

“I speak candidly. I wear my emotions on my sleeves, and I speak especially passionately about about our children being shot in schools and around, around guns,” he said. “So I think people know me. They know who I am. They know where, where my heart is.”