Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) says he was offended after Kamala Harris’s vetting team asked whether he had been a “double agent” for Israel while he was being considered as her potential running mate during the 2024 presidential race.
Shapiro described the exchange in his upcoming memoir, Where We Keep the Light, according to excerpts published Sunday evening by The New York Times.
“‘Had I been a double agent for Israel?’ wrote Shapiro, describing a last-minute question from the vetting team,” The Times reported. “He responded that the question was offensive, he wrote, and was told, ‘Well, we have to ask.’”
Shapiro wrote that he tried to remain composed, but the line of questioning left a lasting impression.
“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,’” The Times reported.
Shapiro was widely viewed as a top contender for the Democratic vice presidential slot after Harris took over as the party’s nominee following former President Joe Biden’s exit from the race. Harris ultimately selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as her running mate.
After the decision, some political commentators—including CNN host Jake Tapper—publicly speculated whether Shapiro’s Jewish faith played a role in him not being chosen. Shapiro also drew attention during the campaign for voicing support for Israel following the Hamas terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, a stance that proved controversial among parts of the Democratic Party’s progressive base.
The Times reported that Shapiro was questioned repeatedly about Israel-related issues throughout the vetting process, prompting him to wonder whether he was being singled out.
“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, according to The Times.
Shapiro said the vetting meetings were not chaotic or hostile on the surface, but still left him uneasy.
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.”
The episode is likely to draw renewed scrutiny from Republicans and other critics who argue the Democratic Party has struggled to manage internal divisions over Israel, antisemitism, and foreign policy—particularly as the Israel-Hamas war remains a major political flashpoint.
It could also complicate Harris’s political future. Although she lost the 2024 race, Democrats and Republicans alike have speculated that Harris could pursue another White House bid in 2028. Early polling and favorability trends have suggested she would face serious headwinds in a future national campaign, particularly with independent and swing-state voters, where Republicans have argued Democrats are vulnerable on inflation, border security, and foreign policy.
For Shapiro, who remains a rising figure in Democratic politics, the revelation adds a new layer to the debate over how the Harris team handled the vetting process—and whether concerns about identity politics and party factions shaped one of the biggest decisions of the 2024 election cycle.
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