Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has accused JD Vance of “offer[ing] comfort” to right-wing antisemites as criticism against the vice president grows.
Speaking to NBC News after an event at the 92nd Street Y on Wednesday night, Shapiro highlighted Vance’s failure to mention Jewish people or the Nazis who murdered them in his Holocaust Remembrance Day post.
“Remember that the reason why we memorialize the Holocaust on this day, really, essentially, is to never forget,” Shapiro, who is Jewish, told NBC. “And the reason you want to never forget is so that we never live through that atrocity again. Part of never forgetting is making sure that the facts of what happened are recited, are remembered. The fact that JD Vance couldn’t bring himself to acknowledging that 6 million Jews were killed by Hitler and by the Nazis speaks volumes.”
Shapiro continued, listing a variety of reasons why such a move did not shock him.
“It is not a surprise to me, however, given the way in which he has openly supported the AfD party, given the way he openly embraces neo-Nazis and neo-Nazi political parties, given the way in which he has offered comfort, really, to the antisemites on the right who are infecting the Republican Party,” referring to the vice president’s support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former DOGE head Elon Musk have also backed the party, which has been classified as an extremist organization by German intelligence agencies.
“It’s not a shock to me that he would omit that, but it’s a sad day that the vice president of the United States on Holocaust Awareness Day couldn’t address that,” Shapiro said.
Vance’s post featured photos of the vice president and his wife, Usha, at Dachau, a Nazi concentration camp in Germany.
The caption accompanying the photos read, “Today we remember the millions of lives lost during the Holocaust, the millions of stories of individual bravery and heroism, and one of the enduring lessons of one of the darkest chapters in human history: that while humans create beautiful things and are full of compassion, we’re also capable of unspeakable brutality. And we promise never again to go down the darkest path.”
Today we remember the millions of lives lost during the Holocaust, the millions of stories of individual bravery and heroism, and one of the enduring lessons of one of the darkest chapters in human history: that while humans create beautiful things and are full of compassion,… pic.twitter.com/2UwFcy4Kmp
— JD Vance (@JDVance) January 27, 2026
The Daily Beast has contacted Vance’s office for comment. A spokesperson for Vance described Shapiro’s comments as a “next level hypocritical deflection from Shapiro, a misguided plea for attention from a political lightweight” in a statement to NBC, adding that Shapiro had “desperately tried to shift blame to the Vice President.”
Vance’s team pointed NBC to Shapiro’s own post marking Holocaust Remembrance Day that did not explicitly mention Jews, although it does mention antisemitism.
“This Holocaust Remembrance Day, we pause to reflect on a horrific chapter in human history — a period of incredible darkness for our world, consumed by hate and violence against millions of people on the basis of their faith, their background, and their beliefs,” Shapiro wrote on X on Tuesday.
“Today, perhaps more than ever before, we know how much work is still left to do. Amidst the rising antisemitism we’re seeing across this country, it’s on us to rededicate ourselves to combatting hate and violence wherever we see it — and to speak with moral clarity in its face.” The Daily Beast has contacted Shapiro’s office for comment.
This Holocaust Remembrance Day, we pause to reflect on a horrific chapter in human history — a period of incredible darkness for our world, consumed by hate and violence against millions of people on the basis of their faith, their background, and their beliefs.
Today, perhaps…— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) January 27, 2026
Shapiro’s criticisms of Vance come during a tumultuous week for the vice president, who has also faced heat for comparing a disabled veteran to Forrest Gump and failing to contain the growing anti-ICE backlash in Minnesota. He was also criticized by his fellow Catholics for choosing to serve Trump rather than Jesus.
Many were quick to point out that Vance had failed to explicitly identify any of the groups victimized by the Nazis, including Jews, or Nazis themselves.
“Thank you Mr. Vice President for this unique commemoration of the Holocaust that manages to avoid mentioning Jews or condemning Nazis,” the X account for Tablet, a conservative-leaning Jewish magazine, replied.
The Jewish Democratic Council of America also criticized the post, describing it as “A Holocaust remembrance statement that doesn’t mention Jews.” Council CEO Halie Soifer also criticized the vice president’s post, writing that it “really takes effort” to issue a Holocaust Remembrance Day statement “without any mention of six million Jews lost, the Jewish people, Nazis, or the issue of antisemitism.”
A Holocaust remembrance statement that doesn’t mention Jews. https://t.co/wg5MfFmLcv
— Jewish Dems (@USJewishDems) January 27, 2026
Vocal Trump supporter and far-right influencer Laura Loomer also weighed in, replying to the vice president’s post with a curt reminder: “6 million Jewish lives.”
The ongoing issue of antisemitism in the Republican Party boiled over in October after Tucker Carlson hosted Nick Fuentes, a far-right white supremacist and Holocaust denier, on his podcast.
At the time, President Donald Trump defended Carlson’s actions, telling reporters, “I mean, if he wants to interview Nick Fuentes, I don’t know much about him, but if he wants to do it, get the word out, let him.”
“You know, people have to decide. Ultimately, people have to decide.”
The post Josh Shapiro Exposes JD Vance as Humiliating Failures Mount appeared first on The Daily Beast.
