(New York, New York) – New details from inside the 2024 Democratic ticket reveal just how tense and distrustful the vetting process became behind closed doors.
According to a CNN report, aides working for former Vice President Kamala Harris questioned Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz about his past ties to China, at one point asking whether he had ever acted as an agent for the Chinese Communist Party.
The grilling stemmed from Walz’s history as a teacher who spent time in China in the late 1980s, shortly after the Tiananmen Square massacre, and later returned multiple times to lead student trips before entering politics. Harris aides reportedly flagged those visits as a potential red flag during the running-mate search.
Walz denied any ties to the CCP and was ultimately selected as Harris’s No. 2, with the campaign praising his Midwestern background, military service, and appeal to working-class voters.
The report also reveals Harris aides posed similarly explosive questions to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, asking whether he had ever been an agent of the Israeli government, a line of inquiry Shapiro later described as offensive and antisemitic in his upcoming memoir.
The vetting team allegedly included Dana Remus, who reportedly pressed Shapiro on whether he had communicated with undercover Israeli operatives. Prominent Jewish leaders later condemned the questioning as invoking “classic dual-loyalty tropes.”
Harris ultimately passed over Shapiro, citing concerns he might clash with the vice-presidential role – a claim his allies angrily rejected. The fractured process ended with Harris and Walz heading into the general election, where the ticket went on to lose decisively to President Donald Trump.
