Josh Shapiro Is A Top VP Contender. He’s Also Attracted More Controversy Than Any Other Candidate.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has some obvious advantages as a potential running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris. He is a popular, moderate governor of a critical battleground state with strong ties to both law enforcement and organized labor.

In the two weeks since Shapiro emerged on Harris’ short list, however, he has also been subjected to a barrage of criticism — largely from more progressive detractors — and accompanying negative media coverage that would, at this point, make him more controversial with parts of the Democratic coalition than any of the other finalists for the No. 2 spot.

Initially, and perhaps most prominently, an ad-hoc group of individual left-wing activists and commentators has attacked Shapiro for being too pro-Israel — with one self-described Jewish leftist erecting a website titled NoGenocideJosh.com.

The proximate cause of these activists’ ire is Shapiro’s comment on CNN in April that elements of pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses were engaging in antisemitism. Shapiro distinguished between different kinds of protesters and also warned against Islamophobia on campus, but one polarizing line — sometimes stripped of context — has raised progressive hackles.

“We have to query whether or not we would tolerate this if this were people dressed up in KKK outfits or KKK regalia making comments about people who are African-American in our communities,” he said.

Shapiro’s allies note he holds a mainstream Democratic position on Israel-Palestine: He supports Israel’s right to exist and defend itself, wants a two-state solution, and views Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an obstacle to peace. In January, Shapiro called Netanyahu “one of the worst leaders of all time.”

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