Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said he was offended by questions Kamala Harris’ team asked about her support for Israel during the selection of her running mate.
Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro responds to home arson attack
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro condemned political violence after police detained a suspect in an arson attack at the Governor’s Mansion in Harrisburg.
WASHINGTON – Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he went through the process of choosing former Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate before settling on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, deciding he wasn’t right for the role.
The revelation is contained in Shapiro’s memoir, a copy of which USA TODAY obtained. The book, “Where We Keep the Light: Stories From a Life of Service,” which mixes anecdotes about politics and his Jewish faith, will be released on January 27th.
Mr. Shapiro, who is up for re-election this fall, revealed new details about his conversations with Mr. Harris, who at one point considered challenging for the nomination, as well as former President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump.
Shapiro, who was Biden’s top surrogate before he resigned, has also hinted at his future political plans.
The would-be 2028 Democratic presidential nominee has announced himself as willing to “go against the grain” and “say the quiet parts loud,” even if those positions are unpopular. Shapiro says he was always willing to make a choice and follow through.
Shapiro, 52, said he was willing to pay “if there was a political price,” but added, “The truth is, most of the time I was able to get people where I was, or at least get them more in my direction.”
The collapse of the Biden camp
Mr. Shapiro’s book offers contrasts and counterarguments to Ms. Harris’ own campaign memoir, “107 Days,” published in 2025. Harris wrote about the “recklessness” of Biden’s top aides, including herself, in refusing to tell the president he should not seek re-election.
Shapiro said Biden administration officials had been gossiping about Biden behind his back for months before he withdrew from the race.
Shapiro said that at a White House state dinner he attended in April 2024, Biden aides asked him about the situation on the ground in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state. Shapiro said he gave them an honest assessment: Biden is depressed and falling.
Mr. Biden’s abysmal debate in June only underscored that point. Shapiro said by then he was “starting to have serious doubts about how Biden would win,” but he didn’t think any politician would jump over the sitting vice president to accept his party’s nomination.
When the president and his wife visited Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the capital, Shapiro joined them for coffee. Biden asked how things were going in Pennsylvania. “There are a lot of people who think it’s best for him to withdraw from the race,” Shapiro told Biden, adding that he shared internal polling to make his point. Mr. Biden rejected it.
The conversation was respectful and cordial, he said. Biden is a “good man” and “a man of honor.”
It’s not the ‘right time’ for Shapiro
When Biden finally resigned, Shapiro said he asked himself: “Well, what do we do? Maybe there’s a process where the party works to replace Mr. Biden? Did I want to be a part of that?”
His wife, Lori, did not approve of his participation in the race.
“I don’t think we’re ready to do this,” she said. “This is not the right time for our family, and it is not on our terms.”
Shapiro said he was still considering it, but ultimately agreed with his wife. Shortly thereafter, Harris called him for assistance.
As a moderate governor in a swing state, Mr. Shapiro’s name quickly rose to the top of Ms. Harris’ list of running mates. Her campaign manager called on her behalf to see if he was interested in coming under scrutiny.
Lori was just as worried as him. “I knew that although it was an honor, for some reason it didn’t feel right,” Shapiro wrote.
Harris’ lawyers focused on their differences in policy areas. Harris said his team pressed him to support law enforcement. He said he communicated that bipartisan appeal was a big reason he was elected.
“They questioned my ideology, my approach, my worldview,” he said. “Again, it was their right to do so. But the way they conducted it showed that they didn’t really understand where the people who were deciding this presidential election actually were.”
Harris team asks if Shapiro is an Israeli agent‘
In one of the subsequent sessions, Harris’ team focused on Israel, he says. They took issue with his aggressive response to pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Pennsylvania and worried about how his stance would affect Michigan, a battleground state with a large Arab-American population.
“I wondered if these questions were being asked just to me, the only Jew running for office, or if everyone who doesn’t hold federal office is similarly accused of Israel,” he said.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who is Jewish, was also considered. He has said little about what happened when he was tested. Shapiro volunteered at an Israeli military base in high school and worked at the Israeli Embassy in Washington early in his career.
Shapiro said their questions increased his sense that he didn’t deserve the ticket. Members of the team suggested withdrawing from the process before meeting with Mr. Harris. His wife encouraged him to talk to the vice president and told him he would regret it if he didn’t, he said.
On the way to see Harris in Washington, he says her team asked him if he had ever “been an agent of the Israeli government” or had any contact with secret Israeli agents.
Shapiro was surprised and angry. “If they were working undercover, I said, how would we know?”
While waiting for Harris at the Naval Observatory, Shapiro said he made small talk with one of the staff members. Harris writes in her book that she was measuring curtains and counting the number of bedrooms. Shapiro said his comments were misrepresented. He was trying to determine whether his children would be comfortable calling the house their home.
When he finally spoke to Harris, she told him that if he was selected, she would expect his full focus. Shapiro said he told her he intended to do his best, but that he still needed to run the state. Harris was asked if she would apologize for her previous comments about protesters. He told her he didn’t mean to do that.
At the time, she told him that she had had a difficult time as vice president and listed several complaints about Biden’s senior staff and their closed decision-making process, which she plans to detail in her book. “I was surprised that she seemed to dislike the role so much,” he said.
Mr. Shapiro expressed his own expectations for the job. He wanted to partner with Harris and know that she would take his opinions seriously.
“She was very clear that that wasn’t what she was looking for. I was going to work primarily with her staff. She couldn’t tell me that I would have that kind of access.”
To Harris’ credit, she was honest, he wrote. After the meeting, they made him wait at former Attorney General Eric Holder’s apartment in Washington. Eventually, Dana Remus, one of the vice president’s lawyers, showed up and said she understood that Shapiro didn’t want the job. Moving to Washington would be difficult for him, and the role would be a financial burden. His wife would get a new wardrobe and pay for professional hair and makeup. Couples must also pay for meals and entertainment.
“I was a little bit slack-jawed. The comments were unkind to me. They were unkind to Lori,” he said.
Shapiro said he went home, weighed his options with his wife, and decided he didn’t want the job. He called Remus and told him he was leaving. He wanted to tell Harris personally.
“She then told me that the VP wouldn’t handle bad news well and I shouldn’t force her. At that point, I left it to the VP’s team to inform her of my decision.”
Two days later, Harris called to say he had officially chosen Walz. “She could not have been more kind,” Shapiro wrote.
Mr. Shapiro did not know whether Mr. Remus had informed Mr. Harris of his withdrawal, but said Mr. Harris did not ask.
Harris later wrote in his memoirs that Shapiro was “poised, sophisticated, and personable,” but he seemed reluctant to take command.
People familiar with the process told USA TODAY at the time that Mr. Shapiro tried to negotiate the policy portfolio himself. It was clear from his probing interviews that it was going to be a bad match, they said. His perceived ambitions, strong ties to Jewish identity, and how that influenced his views on Israel were also prominent issues in the race to be Harris’ running mate.
obama factor
Mr. Shapiro’s faith was appealing to another prominent Democrat who ran for president nearly two decades ago.
He was one of Pennsylvania’s earliest supporters of Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential primary, when the former Illinois congressman pulled off an upset over Hillary Clinton.
Mr. Shapiro defended Mr. Obama during the primary campaign after Mr. Obama’s former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, made anti-Israel and anti-Semitic remarks. Mr. Shapiro appeared on Mr. Obama’s behalf at synagogues and community events and convened listening sessions with prominent Jewish leaders.
“Personally, I was fielding a high volume of calls from donors who were concerned about the president’s support for Israel,” Shapiro said. “But I felt comfortable defending his beliefs. I thought the attacks were unfair. I believed in his message, and I thought he would be a better president.”
Mr. Shapiro’s rhetorical style has been compared to Mr. Obama, and Mr. Shapiro has admitted in the past to be a fan of Mr. Obama.
Obama campaigned for Shapiro when he ran for governor in 2022, and attended a rally with Shapiro, Biden, future Sen. John Fetterman and others just before the election.
Mr. Shapiro spoke earlier than Mr. Obama at the event, a position he acknowledged was intimidating. Shapiro said the former president came backstage after he spoke and “gave me a little hug.”
“‘Hi,’ he said in my ear,” Shapiro writes of Obama. “‘I was listening to your speech. It was very good. It meant something.’
“This moment still sticks with me,” Shapiro continues. “I also keep a photo of us hugging in my office.”
Living “in a bubble”
On Passover in 2025, Shapiro and his family were sleeping on the second floor when a Molotov cocktail came through the window of the Governor’s Mansion. For the first time, Shapiro realized that people were trying to kill him.
It took Trump a week to make the call after the arson attack. When President Trump finally called from his personal cell phone, Shapiro didn’t answer because he didn’t recognize the number. President Trump left a voicemail asking her to call him anytime. “It’s just a terrible situation,” President Trump said.
Shapiro called him back. Mr. Trump responded immediately. He said he raised several issues important to the state during the call, including jobs for steel workers in Pittsburgh.
He said Trump brought up the 2028 presidential election and the Democratic bench. “He said he liked the way I talked to people and dealt with problems.”
Trump, who nearly suffered an assassination attempt in July 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania, also said, “I don’t want to be president because of how dangerous it has become to be in office,” he said.
