Josh Shapiro says he’s ‘not going to be lectured by Donald Trump’ on antisemitism

CHICAGO — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro lambasted former President Donald Trump for his Saturday comments suggesting that Vice President Kamala Harris didn’t pick Shapiro to be her running mate because he is Jewish.

“Donald Trump is completely full of it, and he’s trying to use me, and he’s trying to use other Jews to divide Americans further,” Shapiro told reporters at the Palmer Hotel in Chicago on the first day of the Democratic National Convention. “We have seen this with Donald Trump over and over and over again. He is the least credible person when it comes to standing up against hatred and bigotry.”

Trump and his allies have often repeated in recent weeks that Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate over Shapiro because the Pennsylvania governor is Jewish and faced criticism from progressive activists for his support for Israel in its war against Hamas.

“They turned him down because he’s Jewish,” Trump said during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

Shapiro said Monday that he was “not going to be lectured by Donald Trump,” on the topic, and stressed that antisemitism “played absolutely no role in my dialogue with the vice president, absolutely not.”

Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, is Jewish. Harris’ campaign rebutted Trump’s comments about Shapiro, saying in a statement Sunday that the “campaign strongly rejects the attacks, rooted in his faith, that he has endured.”

Despite not being on the Democratic ticket this year, Shapiro is making the rounds at the convention this week and speaking at a number of events, including a happy hour hosted Monday by his campaign. Talking to a crush of reporters after addressing the Pennsylvania delegation, he spoke about being passed over in the veepstakes.

“I think Kamala Harris made a great pick for the job,” he said, adding that Harris “was very clear about what she wanted.”

“I think Tim fits that really well … and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be remaining governor of Pennsylvania, a job I love, where I get to have an impact every day and continue to chart my own course.”

In the aftermath of Harris’ selection of Walz, Shapiro has emphasized the executive role he has as governor. Several sources from both Harris’ and Shapiro’s camps have said the decision included consideration of how well Shapiro, who is known to have national political ambitions, fit in the No. 2 role.

Shapiro started the whirlwind week by speaking to three state delegations — Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and Florida. He was also expected to speak at a DNC caucus meeting on labor Monday afternoon.

Shapiro lauded President Joe Biden, whom Democrats were gearing up to celebrate at this convention until just about a month ago.

“I think we’re going to hear from him tonight to both celebrate the work he’s done and also pass the torch to Kamala Harris,” Shapiro said. “And it’s time. Folks are ready. Folks are fired up.”

Shapiro also credited Harris and Walz for their Sunday campaign swing through Western Pennsylvania, noting rural and Republican-majority counties are part of the equation Democrats will need to win the state.

“She understands the importance of showing up in communities that have oftentimes been forgotten,” he said. “I think this race has been reset. I will tell you, in Pennsylvania, it’s tough, right? You can get to a race that’s sort of basically, you know, statistically tied, and getting that last point or two in Pennsylvania is really, really tough.”

And he received a warm welcome from Arkansas delegates Monday morning.

Jannie Cotton, vice chair of the Arkansas Democratic Party, introduced Shapiro as the “favorite” VP pick “among the delegates.”

Shapiro, who leads a state that could determine the result of the presidential election, noted the frustration that can come from being a Democrat in a reliably red state.

“I recognize that for some the results in Arkansas may feel like a foregone conclusion. But there is power in speaking up. There is power in standing up and saying I’m still gonna defend a woman’s right to choose,” Shapiro said. “ … when you do that you push back on the chaos and give all of us more confidence.”

The group of about 50 were cramped into a small, warm conference room that he joked was feeling the “Arkansas heat.”

Minutes later Shapiro spoke to his home delegation, two floors down and in a large well air-conditioned ballroom, also in the historic Palmer House hotel.

There, he called Harris a good friend who “is battle tested and ready to go.”

“If you can’t tell how skilled and determined and prepared she is take a look at … Donald Trump,” Shapiro said. “He is scared of Kamala Harris. He is scared of powerful people and you know what he’s really scared of? Powerful women.”

Pennsylvania’s delegation was a big draw Monday morning. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also addressed the group.

At the happy hour Shapiro hosted later Monday, he waxed poetic about the founding fathers gathering in Philadelphia in 1776.

“That spirit that was born in Pennsylvania is now all across this great nation, and we have work to do to defend our rights,” Shapiro said to more than 100 people at the Epiphany Center for the Arts. “I want you to know I could not be more faithful in Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to pick up that work that needs to be done to protect our real freedom.”

The Monday afternoon gathering — called Pennsylvania’s Real Freedom Happy Hour — was the premier event hosted by his campaign. The first-term governor was introduced by Lt. Gov. Austin Davis and State Sen. Sharif Street, who chairs the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.

Near the event, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters were marching from nearby Union Park toward the United Center, where the official convention proceedings are taking place.

Toward the end of Shapiro’s remarks, a passerby shouted into the venue, “Free free Palestine!”