According to the man who broke the news of Joe Biden’s dropping out of the presidential race, Kamala Harris may have already decided on her running mate.
Mark Halperin, a journalist and commentator for Newsmax, posted a tweet on Sunday that is raising some eyebrows across social media.
In his post, he included a picture of a smiling Harris with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro surrounded by a crowd of people and wrote one word suggesting that he was her running mate choice.
“DEVELOPING…” he wrote.
DEVELOPING….. pic.twitter.com/MEclWOkTtC
— Mark Halperin (@MarkHalperin) July 28, 2024
Some users, including liberal “reporters,” immediately accused Halperin of making this all up, ignoring his spot-on revelation on Biden.
it may very well be Shapiro, but Mark Halperin is very clearly just making this all up and has no special knowledge whatsoever pic.twitter.com/rmUroOpNGj
— Alex Shephard (@alex_shephard) July 28, 2024
Others expressed a mixture of nerves, approval, and confusion.
If Harris picks Shapiro…we’re in for a really tough election. https://t.co/E0bIquy9w3
— Empire State Politics (@EmpireStatePol) July 28, 2024
Any other choice is ridiculous.
— Morgan Warstler (@morganwarstler) July 28, 2024
Hope so! https://t.co/UzUOpzJOZY
— Christina Hoff Sommers (@CHSommers) July 28, 2024
…film together for a photography class?
— Joel Sawyer (@joeldavidsawyer) July 28, 2024
If Harris does ultimately select Shapiro, he has the benefit of having a high job approval rating in arguably the most critical swing state in the country.
But he also possesses some significant vulnerabilities.
The Gateway Pundit reported yesterday that Shapiro has been accused of sexism and covering up sexual harassment.
The scandal involved a woman who accused her boss, Shapiro legislative liaison Mike Vereb, of sexual harassment. Shapiro’s office then tried to put the matter to rest by reaching a $295,000 settlement with her.
Shapiro is also accused of receiving campaign funds from an illegal scheme involving the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) and the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) during his 2022 gubernatorial campaign.
The Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank, alleges the PSEA made two contributions of roughly $1.5 million from its general treasury to the Fund for Student Success (FSS). The group says the FSS is a political fund operated by the PSEA.
Whoever Harris ultimately ends up selecting, Republicans need to keep the focus on Harris’s radical record and not let the media use the choice to help redefine her as reasonable.
