Teleprompters, presidential dreams and bad debates: Inside Tim Walz’s winning interview to be Harris VP pick

In a move that is rarely encouraged in a job interview, Tim Walz sat in the dining room of the US Naval Observatory reeling off a string of his self-confessed weaknesses to Kamala Harris and her vetting team.

He doesn’t know how to use a teleprompter.

He isn’t from a swing state and is relatively unknown.

And, he’s a bad debater.

These candid admissions, however, all helped Walz ace the final interview and secure his position as Harris’s vice presidential pick over contenders Josh Shapiro and Mark Kelly.

“It was a home run,” a member of the vetting team told CNN. “Everyone loved him.”

Walz was an outsider and Harris knew the least about him compared to his Democratic adversaries when he found himself in the running.

But, insiders told CNN that Walz’s transparency over his vulnerabilities, willingness to be a team player and his revelation that he does not harbor ambitions to one day become president that went down a treat in the Democratic presidential nominee’s camp.

Walz first endorsed Harris for president on July 22 after President Joe Biden abandoned his re-election bid.

In the two weeks that followed, speculation ramped up about who Harris would pick to join her on the ticket with the candidates quickly getting whittled down.

The final shortlist was made up of three names: Walz, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly.

On Sunday, Harris and her team held final interviews – dubbed chemistry tests – with the three candidates at her home in DC.

During Walz’s interview, Harris asked him if he would run for president.

Walz said no – an answer that reportedly struck Harris.

A person involved with the vetting process told Politico that Walz acknowledged that his political career was nearing its