PA Gov. Josh Shapiro explodes over Kamala Harris book excerpt about him: ‘Trying to cover her a—’

In her memoir “107 Days,” former Vice President Kamala Harris expressed apprehension about selecting Shapiro as her 2024 running mate: “A vice president is not a copresident.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was not happy when he learned about what former Vice President Kamala Harris wrote about him in her New York Times best-selling memoir “107 Days.”

In a new profile feature in The Atlantic, Shapiro had an expletive-laced response when presented with an excerpt about him in Harris’s book about her historic 2024 presidential campaign.

Harris considered Shapiro as her vice presidential running mate for the Democratic nomination, but ultimately chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. The former presidential nominee details inviting her top three picks for a face-to-face meeting at her vice presidential residence, the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.

In the book, Harris expressed apprehension with selecting Shapiro, whom she described as a “talented political athlete,” but admitted, “I had a nagging concern that he would be unable to settle for a role as number two and that it would wear on our partnership.”

“‘Every day as president,’ I said, ‘I’ll have ninety-nine problems, and my VP can’t be one,'” Harris recalled telling Shapiro, who was rumored to be a potential presidential contender in 2024 and continues to be considered a hopeful in the 2028 election.

Harris also shared that Shapiro asked to be in the room for “every decision” Harris would make if elected to the White House, something she writes gave her pause.

“I told him bluntly that was an unrealistic expectation. A vice president is not a copresident,” the former vice president writes.

Other details included Shapiro allegedly asking Harris’s residence manager about how he “might arrange to get Pennsylvania artists’ work on loan from the Smithsonian.”

The Atlantic’s Tim Alberta writes of telling Shapiro about the excerpts: “Harris had accused him, in essence, of measuring the drapes, even inquiring  about featuring Pennsylvania artists in the vice-presidential residence; of insisting ‘that he would want to be in the room for every decision’ Harris might make; and, more generally, of hijacking the conversation when she interviewed him for the job, to the point where she reminded him that he would not be co-president.”

“She wrote that in her book?” Shapiro replied to the claim about the vice presidential residence’s art. “That’s complete and utter bulls–t.”

“I can tell you that her accounts are just blatant lies,” he added.

Shapiro went further, telling Alberta, “She’s trying to sell books and cover her a–.” Moments later, he acknowledged, “I shouldn’t say ‘cover her a–.’ I think that’s not appropriate.”

Though Harris was candid about her interaction with Shapiro, she described him as “always poised, polished, impersonal.” However, she writes, “Apart from apprehensions for myself, I was also concerned for him. I thought his frustrations with the job might impact his performance in the role.”

She added, “And why take an effective democratic governor out of a job he liked and was good at? But could I afford to turn my back on such a talented political athlete in such a critical state?”

“I’m glad Vice President Harris is sharing her story and her perspective, her openness is refreshing,” former Democratic National Committee official Hyma Moore told theGrio.

“Both she and Governor Shapiro are clearly ambitious leaders. The reality is that we’re likely to see more of this kind of back-and-forth in the coming months, especially as we move closer to campaign season. The mini primary is already here.”

Democratic strategist Joel Payne told theGrio of Shapiro’s response to Harris’s book, “Listen, politics is a contact sport, and these are two contemporaries who very much have a lot to say about the future of the Democratic Party. One lesson Democrats should take from 2024 is that nobody is served by sweeping disagreements and tensions under the rug.”

He added, “If folks have divergent views on topics, they should talk about it, and the Democratic Party infrastructure should be strong enough to absorb whatever tension that might generate. A good, clean fight can be healthy for a political party.”