In his memoir Where We Keep the Light, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro says the prospect of joining Kamala Harris as vice president "didn’t feel right," describing the vetting process as "unnecessarily contentious." He claims Harris’s team probed his loyalties — including whether he might be a "double agent for Israel" — and says he was surprised by Harris’s apparent dissatisfaction with the VP role. Shapiro withdrew from consideration and was advised not to contact Harris directly; she later chose Tim Walz and the ticket lost to Donald Trump and J.D. Vance.
Shapiro Says Being Considered As Harris’s VP 'Didn’t Feel Right' — Cites Contentious Vetting In New Memoir
Shapiro says possibly being Harris' VP pick 'just didn't feel right'
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, in his forthcoming memoir Where We Keep the Light, says the idea of serving as Kamala Harris’s vice president in 2024 "didn’t feel right" and describes a vetting process he found needlessly adversarial, according to excerpts reported by Politico Playbook and The New York Times.
Vice President Kamala Harris and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro speak to the press while making a stop at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, July 13, 2024.(Getty Images)
Shapiro’s Account Of The Vetting
Shapiro writes that although he felt honored to be considered, "it just didn’t feel right for some reason," and that much of the questioning he faced during vetting "felt unnecessarily contentious." He says members of Harris’s team appeared to misunderstand where many voters were politically, which contributed to his unease (reporting by Politico Playbook).
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro during a re-election campaign kickoff event in Philadelphia on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026.
"If we had door A and door B as options, and she was for door A and I was for door B, I just wanted to make sure that I could make the case for door B, and if I didn’t convince her, then I’d run right through a brick wall to support her decision," Shapiro writes, as cited by The New York Times. "She was crystal clear that that was not what she was looking for."
Allegations About Probing Questions
Shapiro also alleges that the vetting included unusually probing questions about his loyalties; he says Harris’s staff asked whether he might be a "double agent for Israel." He frames these probes as part of a broader, sometimes discomforting scrutiny that helped push him away from accepting the role.
President Joe Biden listens as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro delivers remarks following a briefing on Interstate 95 repairs, in Philadelphia on June 17, 2023.
Concerns About The Vice Presidential Role
He was reportedly surprised by how much Harris seemed to dislike aspects of the vice-presidential role itself. Shapiro recounts conversations in which Harris lamented the office’s limited influence in decision-making and even complained about not having a private bathroom in the vice president’s office. He says he was told that the vice president’s chief of staff would give directions to a running mate — a dynamic that added to his reservations.
Decision To Withdraw
After weighing the situation, Shapiro says he withdrew from consideration. He requested permission to call Harris personally to explain his decision, but he was reportedly advised against doing so because "the VP would not handle bad news well," per his account in the book (The New York Times and Politico Playbook).
Harris ultimately selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate for 2024. The Harris–Walz ticket was defeated by the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance in the general election.
Sources: Excerpts from Where We Keep the Light as reported by Politico Playbook and The New York Times.
Help us improve.
