Harris' Vetting of Gov. Josh Shapiro Had a Foul and Familiar Odor

Ruben Navarrette
Thu, 22 Jan 2026 18:19:14 -0800
Opinion

SAN DIEGO — With so much going on, it's helpful to know not just what a column is about but also what it's not about.

This column is not about whether former Vice President Kamala Harris should have chosen Pennsylvania Gov. John Shapiro as her running mate in the 2024 election, or whether the rising star in the Democratic Party would have been an asset or a liability, or speculation that Shapiro's chances were hurt by Harris' perception that he wanted the No. 1 job.

What this column is about is rank anti-Semitism, and how it never goes away.
Updated: Thu Jan 22, 2026

SAN DIEGO — With so much going on, it's helpful to know not just what a column is about but also what it's not about.

This column is not about whether former Vice President Kamala Harris should have chosen Pennsylvania Gov. John Shapiro as her running mate in the 2024 election, or whether the rising star in the Democratic Party would have been an asset or a liability, or speculation that Shapiro's chances were hurt by Harris' perception that he wanted the No. 1 job.

What this column is about is rank anti-Semitism, and how it never goes away.

Every month, there are more stories. Like the one about the eight students at the highly regarded Branham High School in San Jose, Calif., who in December lay down on their school's football field in such a way as to form a human swastika.

This column is also about the hard-to-miss fact that Jewish politicians like Shapiro are often scrutinized more intensely than non-Jews — especially where Israel is concerned. It's also about the familiar and insulting trope that Jews in America wrestle with "divided loyalties" between Israel and the United States.

And finally, it's about how, as a Mexican American, all of this makes me feel very Jewish. To my friends and family members in the tribe, I see you.

For many years, I've been accused by readers, colleagues and editors of having a soft spot for Mexican immigrants. At other times, in conversations about Mexico, I was treated as overly sympathetic to the land of my grandfather's birth as if — to borrow a line from Tony Bennett — I'd left my heart in Chihuahua.

On one occasion, during a heated argument in an editorial board meeting over a story involving the mistreatment of Mexican immigrants by the local police department and district attorney's office, the white woman who served as editorial page editor — aka my boss — said that I was "full of piss and vinegar, and hot sauce."

That was perceptive. But also a tad racist.

In the United States, if you're different and you speak up, you are likely to be "othered" sooner or later.

That is what happened to Shapiro during the 2024 election. According to the governor's soon-to-be-published memoir, "Where We Keep the Light," the process of picking a running mate for Harris was tougher and uglier than expected.

Shapiro writes in the book — an advanced copy of which was obtained by The New York Times: "These sessions were completely professional and businesslike. But I just had a knot in my stomach through all of it."

According to the book, one aide, Dana Remus, a former White House counsel, asked Shapiro if he had ever been an agent of the Israeli government or had ever "communicated with an undercover agent of Israel." The governor found that line of questioning offensive. He recalled telling Remus: "If they were undercover, I responded, how the hell would I know?"

Harris and Co. could have been on edge because the vetting took place in the summer of 2024, as war was still raging in Gaza in response to the heinous Oct. 7 terrorist attacks against Israel.

Or the concern could have been that Shapiro has long made being Jewish central to his identity. During high school, he spent five months in Israel, where he worked on a farm and volunteered to help with service projects on an army base run by the Israel Defense Forces. In 1993, while he was a student at the University of Rochester in New York, he wrote in an op-ed for the campus newspaper that Palestinians were "too battle-minded to be able to establish a peaceful homeland of their own."

Or the issue could have been that, more recently, while serving as governor of the Keystone State, Shapiro — a vocal supporter of Israel — sharply criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He also weathered attacks in response to his criticism of anti-Israel protesters who allegedly harassed Jewish students at the University of Pennsylvania in the spring of 2024.

According to the book, Harris asked Shapiro to apologize for what he said about the college students. He refused.

If Shapiro were the No. 2 on the Democratic presidential ticket, Harris and her handlers were probably worried that any or all of this baggage could hurt the campaign by giving some voters an excuse not to vote for the Democrats.

That's practical, I guess. It's even understandable. But it's not excusable. Giving in to anti-Semitism, or any form of bigotry, never is.