The announcement of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as the Democratic vice presidential nominee was not taken well by a number of politicians, pundits, and conservative voices who were quick to say it shed light on an antisemitism issue within that party.
“The Walz selection shows just how deep the Dems’ antisemitism problem runs,” Manhattan Institute’s Ilya Shapiro posted on X after Walz was selected by Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday over Gov. Shapiro.
During the VP selection process, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (who is Jewish) was forced to defend his pro-Israel position after a years-old opinion op-ed got dragged back up. The op-ed, penned more than 30 years ago by Shapiro in which he detailed his service as an army volunteer for Israel and made derogatory generalizations about Palestinians.
“It’s amazing that despite America’s right, left, and center agreeing that Josh Shapiro was Harris’ best pick for VP, at the end of the day, Shapiro being Jewish disqualified him,” former GOP Congressman Lee Zeldin posted on X.
“It says so much about the state of today’s Democratic Party.”
“Let’s be honest,” GOP Sen. Tom Cotton posted on X. “Kamala is the most anti-Israel member of Biden’s team, always siding with Hamas and Iran’s interests. Shapiro and Walz’s views on Israel aren’t that different. But Harris catered to her pro-Hamas, antisemitic base who opposed Shapiro because he’s Jewish.”
“Kamala Harris did not pick Josh Shapiro because antisemitic progressives did not like that he is Jewish,” NRSC spokesperson Mike Berg said in a statement.
“It was Harris’ first major decision as the nominee and she caved to the pro-Hamas contingency within the Democratic Party.”
As for the contest to become Harris’s VP, Shapiro was obviously not selected — but he did bring heat at a Tuesday night Harris-Walz rally in Philadelphia that launched their swing state tour.
During his speech, Shapiro took aim at former President and GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump as well as Senator JD Vance (R-OH) who is among those running for the Republican standard this year.
“I lean on my family and I lean on my faith which calls me to serve,” Shapiro said during the speech. “And I am proud of my faith!”
“The only reason Josh Shapiro was not selected as VP is because he’s a Pro Israel Jew,” Texas attorney Adam Loewy posted on X. “The Left would have melted down. There is simply no other reason you pass on the wildly popular Governor of the THE MOST IMPORTANT swing state.”
“They just couldn’t stomach a proud Jew,” Adviser Richard Goldberg posted on X. “There was no amount of apologizing for being Jewish and supporting Israel that Shapiro could ever do to be acceptable. That’s today’s Democratic Party.”
“The Left did it to Joe Lieberman,” Fox News contributor Ari Fleischer posted on X. “Now, they did it to Josh Shapiro. The D party is not home for strong supporters of Israel. It’s time for the Jewish community to recognize the power in the D party rests with its anti-Israel progressive base.”
