Video Posted by Philly Mayor Touting Shapiro as VP Sparks Confusion and Speculation: ‘LMAO Did the Mayor Leak It?’
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
The buzz surrounding Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) as Vice President Kamala Harris’ potential running mate spiked Friday afternoon after Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker posted a tweet with a video saying that she was “proud” to be supporting Harris “for President” and Shapiro “for VP!”
Shapiro has been one of the top rumored contenders for the veep spot, and has been included in the vetting the Harris team is conducting with the list of finalists. Previous reports indicated Harris intended to announce her pick before next Tuesday.
The video with the tweet was just over one minute long and featured multiple Pennsylvania Democrats, including Parker herself, touting their support for Harris and Shapiro.
And just in case that tweet is deleted, here is the video:
The above video seems to be an update to one that Parker posted on July 26 that only promoted Harris.
Philly Magazine political writer Ernest Owens tweeted that his sources told him “a staffer connected with Mayor Cherelle Parker’s team accidentally posted the video today,” and it was supposed to be scheduled for Monday — after Harris had announced her pick.
In subsequent tweets, Owens added that he was “hearing there’s a ‘firestorm‘ right now” — quipping he thought that was “an understatement” — and speculating if the decision had not yet been made yet, if all this attention might “backfire” and result in Harris going with a different running mate in the end.
Reaction to Parker’s video was quick, with commenters — especially those based in Philadelphia — wondering if this was indeed a mistaken early release of Harris’ real running mate, the Philly mayor jumping the gun, or her social media team making a wild error.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, however, threw some cold water on the growing online rumors:
It was far from clear in the video whether Parker was simply promoting the Pennsylvania governor’s chances of winning the veepstakes or accidentally scooping Harris’ big announcement.
Attempts to reach Parker’s campaign were not immediately successful. But The Inquirer reached a source close to Parker who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak on behalf of her campaign.
“This is not an announcement of anything. This is just the mayor showing her support for a longtime friend who we know is one of the people being considered, the source said.
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