Former Vice President Kamala Harris had a brutal day Wednesday – and it’s threatening her last grip on power atop the Democratic Party.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro publicly blasted Harris’ “blatant lies” about her failed 2024 presidential campaign, a rare public break between two prominent Democrats as both eye potential 2028 presidential runs.
In her controversial “107 Days” book, Harris accused Shapiro of asking questions about the potential vice president amenities such as the taxpayer provided home and artwork.
“She wrote that in her book? That’s complete and utter bulls**t,” Shapiro fired back. “I can tell you that her accounts are just blatant lies.”
Harris described Shapiro as “poised, polished, and personable” but claimed he insisted on being “in the room for every decision” she would make as president.
“A vice president is not a copresident,” Harris wrote without a hint of irony. She said Shapiro would have been “unable to settle for a role as number two,” so she didn’t name him as running mate.
“‘Every day as president,’ I said, ‘I’ll have ninety-nine problems, and my VP can’t be one,'” Harris claimed she told Shapiro.
Shapiro’s response was brutally honest.
“I mean, she’s trying to sell books and cover her a**,” he said before catching himself. “I shouldn’t say ‘cover her a**.’ I don’t think that’s appropriate. She’s trying to sell books. Period.”
“I did ask a bunch of questions,” he said about the running mate interview. “Wouldn’t you ask questions if someone was talking to you about forming a partnership and working together?”
In the wide-ranging Atlantic profile titled “What Josh Shapiro Knows About Trump Voters,” the governor also blasted other Democratic leaders and his party’s disconnect with American working-class voters.
“Democrats lost ground in some of these communities by failing to show up and failing to treat people with a level of respect that they deserve,” Shapiro said.
Shapiro called Trump “a once-in-a-generation political figure who’s managed to connect on a deeper cultural level.” He criticized former President Barack Obama and failed 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for looking down on blue collar workers.
“I think [Obama’s] understanding of the challenges in those communities was real. But I think instead of offering his prescription for how he’d make it better, he insulted the very folks who were suffering,” Shapiro said.
Harris ultimately selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate in August 2024.
Trump won Pennsylvania in the 2024 election with over 50 percent of the vote.
Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s first-term Democratic governor, is seen as a likely 2028 presidential contender alongside Harris, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.