Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker unleashed a frenzy Friday afternoon by seeming to leak the identity of Vice President Kamala Harris’ new running mate in a campaign ad-style video that described Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as Harris’ No. 2 on the Democratic ticket.
“Kamala Harris for president — Josh Shapiro for vice president!” the mayor declared in the video. “Now we need you. Let us and Kamala Harris know you stand with her!”
The video quickly went viral — with viewers questioning whether Parker had accidentally revealed Shapiro’s triumph in the veepstakes over other contenders, such as Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Govs. Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Tim Walz of Minnesota.
A source close to Parker hastily told the Philadelphia Inquirer that she was simply making a show of support for Shapiro, whom she considers a “friend.”
”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,” a source close to Parker told the local newspaper.
National sources close to the Harris campaign told The Post that they strongly doubted the mayor leaked any closely held information.
One source close the Harris campaign told The Post that the video was “odd,” but that they believe Parker was simply “trying to make ‘fetch’ happen.”
Another source close to the campaign said it’s their understanding that Harris, 59, has not yet made a decision on her running mate — and that if she has, extremely few Democrats know the name.
A third Post source, who is close to a different potential Harris running mate, said the selection was “still up in the air” so far as they’re aware.
Context clues hint at the denials being true — including the fact that Parker posted a video wearing the same outfit on July 26, suggesting the footage indicating Shaprio was the VP pick could be more than a week old.
Harris’ running mate decision is expected either over the weekend or early next week — with the yet-to-be-named pair expected to blitz the swing states with Harris in the coming days ahead of the Aug. 19-22 Democratic convention in Chicago.
The pairing must be formalized by Aug. 7 in order to meet an Ohio ballot-access deadline. She is expected to speak with her running mate at a rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday.
Harris on Friday secured enough voters in a virtual roll call to cement her status as the Democratic presidential nominee after President Biden, 81, abruptly ended his campaign for a second term on July 21 after a party mutiny over his apparent cognitive decline.
Preliminary polling indicates that Shaprio, 51, could aid Harris’ campaign against former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania — though his political liabilities include past pro-Israel statements that could reignite Democratic infighting over the Israel-Hamas war.
Parker’s office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
