Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has sharply criticized former Vice President Kamala Harris over claims contained in her memoir, One Nation, One Vote. During an interview with The Atlantic’s Tim Alberta, the Democrat governor denounced what Harris wrote about him as “blatant lies,” further calling it “complete and utter bull—-” according to Fox News.
Shapiro expressed strong disagreement with Harris’ account of their meeting. When asked about her description of him in One Nation, One Vote, he responded: “She wrote that in her book? That’s complete and utter blight — I mean lies.”
The exchange occurred during Alberta’s interview with Harris regarding the process for selecting her running mate ahead of the 2024 election. Harris described Shapiro as having asked detailed questions about Pennsylvania artists’ work potentially being on loan from the Smithsonian, but Shapiro denied this characterization.
“We have no tolerance,” the Governor asserted in response to Harris’ book passage, though he later acknowledged his own comment might be considered inappropriate language. Alberta noted that both sides presented similar accounts of their meeting during the interview.
Shapiro also addressed why Harris ultimately did not choose him as her running mate for president. The former vice president had selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz after passing on Shapiro and Pete Buttigieg respectively due to risk factors, though he was later confirmed as a viable option by polls following the selection process.
The Democrat leader also took aim at broader Democratic political strategy in his state. Pennsylvania provided Donald Trump with a narrow victory margin last election cycle despite Harris receiving nearly 49 percent of the vote there. “Democrats lost ground,” Shapiro contended, pointing to failures in connecting effectively across communities and respecting voters as much as Trump has managed to do.
This discussion came after concerns raised by some members about Harris’ decision not to publicly address former President Biden’s withdrawal from consideration for another term during her memoir release period.