JD Vance’s story an example of ‘meritocracy’: Mike Huckabee

( NewsNation ) — Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate Tuesday, leading people to compare him with his Republican counterpart, JD Vance.

“My first thought is that Tim Walz is the guy JD Vance pretends to be,” Taegan Goddard, founder of Political Wire, said on X about GOP nominee Donald Trump’s pick for vice president. “We’ll see if that’s a plus.”

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Republican, pushed back on this, saying he doesn’t think Vance “pretends anything,” citing his military and academic record.

“When you work your way through Ohio State, summa cum laude, then go to Yale Law, work your way through that, how do you pretend that?” Huckabee asked on “NewsNation Now.” “You either do it or you don’t.”

Huckabee noted that Vance grew up in poverty and wrote about his struggles in his memoir, “ Hillbilly Elegy .” To Huckabee, “that’s meritocracy.”

“I think a lot of Americans appreciate people who weren’t handed anything but hard luck and made something remarkable out of it,” he said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.