US House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Tuesday argued that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was “overlooked” for the role of Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate because of his Jewish heritage.
Johnson’s comments, made during an interview with The Hill, came shortly after news broke that Harris had selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her vice presidential nominee.
Johnson said Shapiro, who was one of the finalists in contention, “would have been a stronger choice” for Harris.
“I think that clearly was a major factor, is that she was reluctant to put a vice presidential nominee on the ticket with Jewish heritage because they’re having a split in the Democratic Party,” Johnson told The Hill. “They have a pro-Palestinian, in some cases pro-Hamas wing of the Democratic Party.”
“Sadly for Josh Shapiro, because of his heritage, I think that is the reason he was overlooked,” Johnson added.
Johnson rebuffed claims that there was an antisemitic undertone to the decision, but reiterated his opinion that Shapiro’s Judaism was a “major factor” in the decision making process.
“I’m not gonna call it that because I don’t — I just know that that was a major factor,” Johnson said. “I think it was transparently a major factor. And I think they made a political decision that is sad, and I think they’ll regret it.”
Former US President Donald Trump’s running mate, Senator J.D. Vance, opined on Tuesday that if does not choose Josh Shapiro, "it will be due to the antisemitism within their own caucus and party.”
He added, “It's disgraceful that Democrats have reached a point where this is even an open conversation. And it is an open conversation. Even if it is Josh Shapiro, he has had to distance himself from parts of his biography because the far left doesn’t like the fact that he is a Jewish-American. We have to be honest about this fact and call it out."
The 51-year-old Shapiro, who keeps kosher and attended Jewish day school growing up, has been pro-Israel during the war in the Middle East, but he has also voiced his fair share of criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at one point calling him “one of the worst leaders of all time.”
Several weeks ago, before Harris made her selection public, CNN came under fire after its anchor John King said there were “risks” in putting forward Shapiro as the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee because “he’s Jewish.”
“He’s certainly under consideration,” King said before adding, “He’s a first-term governor, he’s Jewish, there could be some risks in putting him on the ticket, but certainly some of our voters here in Pennsylvania said, ‘Hey, we like Gov. Shapiro, give him a look.'”
It is not clear what prompted the remarks by King, who announced plans to convert to Judaism in 2008, but they were nevertheless criticized by Jewish groups and individuals.