The implosion of Kamala Harris’ failed presidential campaign keeps getting messier, and now we are learning just how paranoid and hypocritical her vetting process really was. According to multiple sources familiar with the process, the Harris campaign aggressively questioned potential running mates about foreign influence, including a Democrat who has openly praised Communist China for decades.
That Democrat was Tim Walz.
CNN reports that Walz was grilled over his long record of admiration for China and its communist system, with campaign officials pressing him on whether his views, travel history, and public statements could expose the ticket to attacks over foreign ties. And let’s be honest, those questions did not come out of thin air.
Walz has spent years talking glowingly about China, dating back to his time as a teacher in the early 1990s. In 1991, he described communism as a system where “everyone is the same and everyone shares,” praising government provided housing and food rations. That is not a stray comment. That is ideological sympathy, spoken plainly and without irony.
The concerns only deepened when it became clear Walz had exaggerated his ties to China. In 2016, he claimed he had been to China “about 30 times.” According to Minnesota Public Radio, that math did not add up. Walz later admitted the real number was closer to 15 trips. That may still be a lot, but cutting the figure in half does not exactly inspire confidence.
These revelations surfaced as Democrats scrambled to explain another scandal from the same vetting process, the questioning of Josh Shapiro about whether he had ever acted as an agent for Israel. Shapiro detailed the exchange in his memoir and confirmed it publicly, saying he told Kamala Harris directly how offensive the question was. Many saw that episode as crossing a line, especially given Shapiro’s Jewish faith.
In response to the backlash, Harris allies leaked details about the Walz questioning to CNN, claiming it showed how thorough the campaign was. One source insisted the vetting included “uncomfortable and even farfetched questions,” including whether candidates had acted as agents for foreign countries.
But the pattern is hard to ignore. Jewish candidates were pressed about Israel. A governor who praised communism and overstated his China travel was pressed about Beijing. The Harris campaign clearly feared foreign influence, but seemed oddly selective in how it framed and justified those fears.
What this really exposes is a campaign obsessed with optics, terrified of opposition research, and willing to insult allies to protect itself. In the end, all that vetting did not save Kamala Harris. It just revealed the double standards and internal chaos that helped doom her run in the first place.