(JTA) — JD Vance, the Ohio senator who is Donald Trump’s running mate, said he “feels bad” that Josh Shapiro, the Jewish Pennsylvania governor who was in contention to be Kamala Harris’ running mate, has to “run” from being Jewish to get the job.
Harris, the vice president and Democratic presidential nominee, on Tuesday named Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. Shapiro was among the top two or three in contention and was also subject to a campaign from the progressive left to keep him off the ticket because of his views on Israel.
“I genuinely feel bad that for days, maybe weeks, the guy actually had to run from his Jewish heritage because of what the Democrats are saying about him,” Vance said at a Philadelphia rally. “I think that’s scandalous and disgraceful. Whatever you believe, whatever disagreements on policy you have about somebody, the fact that that race, the vice presidential race, on the Democratic side, became so focused on his ethnicity, I think, is absolutely disgraceful, and it’s insulting to Americans, whatever background you’re from.”
Harris’s campaign has denied that Shapiro’s Jewish identity was involved in the selection. Shapiro’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Vance did not elaborate on his comments, and it was not clear what he meant. Shapiro has made his Jewish identity and faith central to his career and did not play it down while in contention. He also cited an ancient rabbi in his statement after being passed over for the role.
Criticizing Vance's authenticity
Last week, the Philadelphia Inquirer uncovered an op-ed Shapiro wrote in his college paper in 1993, when he was 20, arguing that “Palestinians will not coexist peacefully” and are “too battle-minded” to make peace with Israel.
Shapiro said in response that his views changed over the past three decades. He has long supported the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Since Trump picked Vance last month, Shapiro has accused the Ohio senator of being inauthentic.
“He doesn’t know who he is,” Shapiro said later Tuesday at a rally in Philadelphia where Walz and Harris were to appear together for the first time as a ticket. “And he’s not being honest with himself, so he can’t be honest with the American people.”