Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro — a rising Democratic star often floated as Kamala Harris’s potential running mate and a likely 2028 presidential contender — reportedly unloaded on the former vice president after learning she took several shots at him in her campaign memoir, 107 Days. The exchange, reported by journalist Tim Alberta in The Atlantic, paints a devastating picture of Democratic infighting at the highest levels.
According to Alberta, Shapiro became visibly furious when told Harris had accused him of premature ambition during her vetting process, suggesting he acted like a man already measuring the drapes for the vice-presidential residence. Harris claimed Shapiro even asked about displaying Pennsylvania artists in the official VP home. She also wrote he insisted on being “in the room for every decision” she’d make — to the point that she reminded him he would not be “co-president.”
Shapiro couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“She wrote that in her book?” he said, stunned, before exploding: “That’s complete and utter bullshit.”
He didn’t stop there.
“I can tell you that her accounts are just blatant lies,” Shapiro added.
Alberta wrote that the reaction was so intense it was almost unrecognizable from the calm, disciplined politician he had been interviewing. Shapiro alternated between “outrage and exasperation” as more excerpts were read to him.
What seemed to cut the deepest was Harris portraying him in ways that align with long-circulating criticisms inside the Democratic Party — that Shapiro is self-serving, overly ambitious, and interested primarily in boosting his own power.
Shapiro, who said he has known Harris for “20 years,” took the memoir’s accusations as a personal betrayal. When Alberta asked whether he felt stabbed in the back, Shapiro fired off a scorching response.
“I mean, she’s trying to sell books and cover her ass,” he said — before briefly attempting to soften his language. “I shouldn’t say ‘cover her ass.’ I think that’s not appropriate.”
Still, the damage was done. The comments leave little doubt that Shapiro sees Harris’s claims as a desperate attempt to rewrite history and protect herself politically.
In her memoir, Harris accuses Shapiro of “peppering” her team with questions and showing a “lack of discretion” during the VP selection process — allegations Shapiro clearly views as fabrications designed to paint him as the problem.
The episode reveals deep fractures and distrust within Democratic ranks at a time when the party is already struggling with internal divisions, generational disagreements, and a widening gap between its progressive and establishment wings.
For Republicans, the confrontation is likely to be seen as more proof of disarray inside the Democratic leadership class — and a preview of a bitter 2028 fight as top Democrats turn on one another.
For Shapiro, the interview shows he’s not just distancing himself from Harris — he’s torching her credibility in the process.
