Harris was ‘reluctant’ to choose Shapiro because of his ‘Jewish heritage,’ Speaker Johnson says: report

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who said Tuesday that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro would have been a "stronger choice" for Vice President Harris’ vice presidential pick, said he thinks she was "reluctant" to pick the 51-year-old as her running mate because of his "Jewish heritage."

"I think that clearly was a major factor, is that she was reluctant to put a vice presidential nominee on the ticket with Jewish heritage because they’re having a split in the Democratic Party," Johnson told The Hill on Tuesday. "They have a pro-Palestinian, in some cases pro-Hamas, wing of the Democratic Party.

"Sadly for Josh Shapiro, because of his heritage, I think that is the reason he was overlooked."

Shapiro had frequently been mentioned as one of about a half-dozen candidates Harris was considering to join her ticket, but on Tuesday she announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.

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The two held their first rally together in Philadelphia Tuesday and were introduced by Shapiro.

Johnson said he didn’t want to call the decision antisemitic "because I don’t — I just know that that was a major factor. I think it was transparently a major factor. And I think they made a political decision that is sad, and I think they’ll regret it."

Shapiro had faced attacks by progressives over his stance on the war in Gaza and noticeably had higher unfavorable ratings among Gen Z voters in a new NPR/PBS News/Marist Poll out this week. His ratings were 25% unfavorable compared to Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Walz, who had 10% and 13% unfavorable ratings, respectively.

But while Shapiro has been pro-Israel during its war with Hamas, he has also