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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) said he was offended by Kamala Harris’s team asking if he was a “double agent” for Israel while he was being vetted to be her running mate during the 2024 presidential race.
Shapiro revealed he was irritated by the question in his upcoming book titled Where We Keep the Light. The New York Times published some excerpts from his memoir on Sunday evening.
“‘Had I been a double agent for Israel?’ wrote Mr. Shapiro, describing a last-minute question from the vetting team,” The Times wrote. “He responded that the question was offensive, he wrote, and was told, ‘Well, we have to ask.””
The story continued, “Mr. Shapiro wrote that he understood that questioner was ‘just doing her job. But the fact that he was asked such questions, he wrote, ‘said a lot about some of the people around the VP.’”
Shapiro was seen as one of the top contenders to join the Harris ticket after she replaced ex-President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee last year; Harris ultimately selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) to be her running mate.
Many pundits — including CNN star Jake Tapper — speculated afterwards whether Shapiro was not chosen because he is Jewish. Shapiro also supported Israel following the Hamas terror attack on October 7, 2023 — another potential issue for many progressive voters, political observers argued.
A rep for Harris did not immediately respond to The Times.
The paper on Sunday wrote Shapiro was “pressed” on other issues tied to Israel.
“I wondered whether these questions were being posed to just me — the only Jewish guy in the running — or if everyone who had not held a federal office was being grilled about Israel in the same way,” Shapiro wrote in his book, according to The Times.
Shapiro described the “sessions” with the Harris team as being “completely professional and businesslike.” But he “just had a knot in my stomach through all of it.”
