CNN’s Van Jones suggested that Kamala Harris caved in to the “darker parts” of the Democratic Party when selecting her running mate.
Jones commented that Republicans were extremely anxious about the possibility of Harris choosing Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, as her vice-presidential candidate. Instead, Harris announced Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz would be her running mate for the 2024 election.
Jones, while speaking with CNN anchor Jim Acosta, stated that antisemitism has become embedded in parts of the Democratic Party and implied that this may have influenced Harris’s decision to pick Walz over Shapiro.
“Here’s the challenge you’ve got in this party. People don’t want to talk about it, we’ve got to talk about it,” Jones said. “On the one hand, you have a lot of young people who are concerned about Gaza. You have a lot of Muslims and Arabs and others. They have not felt seen by the Biden administration. You started hearing that ‘Genocide Joe.’ That was building. That was building. And so, those folks needed to have a candidate they could feel comfortable with. This helps it in that regard. But you also have antisemitism that’s gotten marbled into this party. You can be for the Palestinians without being an anti-Jewish bigot. But there are some anti-Jewish bigots out there.”
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker was thought to have prematurely revealed Harris’s vice presidential pick as Shapiro when she posted a hype video on X, seemingly indicating the Pennsylvania governor’s selection. Although the tweet did not explicitly confirm Shapiro as Harris’s VP choice, it led to speculation. According to Ernest Owens of Philly Mag, Parker’s office was not supposed to release the video until Monday.
Proud to be back with so many leaders from across our region supporting @KamalaHarris for President and @JoshShapiroPA for VP! We are One CITY, One REGION, and ONE Commonwealth United! @PADems @PhillyDems @Joanna4PA @PADemsChair @IBEW98 @RepHarris @PALaborers pic.twitter.com/Rh1ojbRjcr
— Cherelle Parker (@PeopleforParker) August 2, 2024
Jones later suggested that Harris may have caved to the antisemitic part of her base when she picked Walz over Shapiro, a Jew.
“And there’s some disquiet now, and there has to be. How much of what just happened is caving in to some of these darker parts in the party? So, that’s gonna have to get worked out. That’s gonna have to get talked through,” Jones added.
