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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nMinnesota Gov. Tim Walz arrives to speak at a press conference regarding new gun legislation at City Hall on Aug. 1, 2024, in Bloomington, Minn. Walz gushed over San Francisco in a recent interview with the New York Times, calling it \u201cthe most beautiful city\u201d he\u2019s ever been in.Stephen Maturen\/Getty Images<\/em><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz \u2014 one of the Democratic lawmakers rumored to be in consideration for the role of Vice President Kamala Harris<\/a>\u2019 running mate \u2014 gushed over San Francisco in a recent interview with the New York Times, calling it \u201cthe most beautiful city\u201d he\u2019s ever been in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a podcast<\/a> with one of the outlet\u2019s columnists, Ezra Klein, the Minnesota governor said conservatives tend to cast Democratic-run areas as \u201cundesirable places\u201d to live. He said that\u2019s true of areas in his own state, like Minneapolis or the state\u2019s \u201cboundary waters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But he brought up San Francisco as one of the prime examples<\/a>, saying the way Republicans have described the city didn\u2019t jibe with his first trip here just last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cStayed down there, I was doing some meetings. Woke up, I did my 5-mile run through the Presidio, to the Golden Gate,\u201d he said. \u201cWent back to my hotel, it was downtown, and end up leaving and I\u2019m like, that is the most beautiful city I\u2019ve ever been in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He went on to admit that San Francisco has problems but said issues like homelessness aren\u2019t unique to the city, and that the way it\u2019s been framed in the media is unfair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was exotic to me,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen San Francisco on TV, you know, hundreds of times and heard about it, and there I am driving around and I\u2019m like a kid again. I\u2019m like, \u2018America is so awesome. San Francisco is just the greatest.\u2019 And that\u2019s the way people would feel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He added: \u201cGo out to the boundary waters of Minnesota. Go to Northern Minnesota and look where the mining has happened for a hundred years. These were the beauty of America. And they\u2019ve demonized these places.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Harris, whose political career began in San Francisco and who officially became the Democratic nominee for president<\/a> on Friday following President Joe Biden\u2019s decision to terminate his reelection bid, is expected to announce her VP pick in the coming days. Walz, once a relatively obscure governor, has had a meteoric rise to prominence over the last few weeks for media interviews in which he\u2019s frequently called the GOP \u201cweird.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The idea that Republicans are \u201cweird\u201d has become a central theme in Democratic campaign messaging<\/a>. Walz is now considered to be on the short list for VP alongside other liberal contenders, such as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aug 2, 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alec Regimbal<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n POLITICS REPORTER<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alec Regimbal is a politics reporter at SFGATE. He graduated from Western Washington University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. A Washington State native, Alec previously wrote for the Yakima Herald-Republic and Seattle Post-Intelligencer. He also spent two years as a political aide in the Washington State Legislature.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Democratic lawmaker called it ‘the most beautiful city’ he’s ever been in By Alec Regimbal, Politics Reporter (SFGate.com) Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz arrives to speak at a press conference regarding new gun legislation at City Hall on Aug. 1, 2024, in Bloomington, Minn. Walz gushed over San Francisco in a recent… Continue reading