Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro Accuses Kamala Harris of Trying to ‘Cover Her Ass‘ with ‘Blatant Lies’ in Memoir About 2024 Campaign

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro had pointed criticism for former Vice President Kamala Harris in a recent profile in The Atlantic, particularly over how she portrays him in her memoir, 107 Days.

The book recounts Harris’ short-lived 2024 presidential campaign after former President Joe Biden exited the race. According to reporter Tim Alberta, people close to Shapiro said the governor had “lost some respect” for Harris during that campaign.

By the time Alberta sat down with Shapiro, he had already read an advance copy of 107 Days (which was released in September) and told the governor that Harris, 61, had taken aim at him in several passages.

Harris’ reported critiques included Shapiro’s alleged need “to be in the room for every decision” and a claim that he “hijacked” their conversation when she interviewed him as a possible running mate. She also wrote that he seemed unusually focused on the official vice president’s residence, supposedly asking about the number of bedrooms and even “measuring the drapes.”

Alberta wrote that Shapiro shifted “between outrage and exasperation” as he heard these excerpts.

Responding to one specific allegation — that he had prematurely asked how to borrow artwork from the Smithsonian for the vice president’s residence — Shapiro asked Alberta, “She wrote that in her book?”

“That’s complete and utter bulls—,” he replied. “I can tell you that her accounts are just blatant lies.”

Alberta noted that he had both read Harris’ book and spoken with “people from both camps.”

In his account of the selection process, the reporter wrote that Shapiro arrived “in an edgy mood” to his running mate interview with Harris and “proceeded to interview” her, “rather than the other way around.”

Shapiro did not dispute that he asked pointed questions. “I did ask a bunch of questions,” he told Alberta. “Wouldn’t you ask questions if someone was talking to you about forming a partnership and working together?”

When asked if he felt betrayed by Harris’ portrayal of him in the memoir, Shapiro — who has known her for two decades — replied, “I mean, she’s trying to sell books and cover her ass.”

He quickly reconsidered his wording, adding, “I shouldn’t say ‘cover her ass.’ I think that’s not appropriate. She’s trying to sell books. Period.”

A representative for Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Shapiro’s remarks.

Harris ultimately selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, after also considering Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly as finalists.

When Alberta asked Shapiro how he felt about being passed over, the governor said, “This was not getting cut from the basketball team,” suggesting he was not devastated by the decision.

However, Alberta reported that people close to Shapiro said he “very much wanted to become Kamala Harris’s running mate.”

Shapiro first publicly addressed Harris’ memoir shortly after its release in September. At the time, he responded through his spokesman Manuel Bonder, who said it was “simply ridiculous to suggest that Governor Shapiro was focused on anything other than defeating Donald Trump and protecting Pennsylvania from the chaos we are living through now,” according to The Washington Post.

Bonder added, “The Governor campaigned tirelessly for the Harris-Walz ticket — and as he has made clear, the conclusion of this process was a deeply personal decision for both him and the Vice President.”