Philly mayor Cherelle Parker 'accidentally' posts video revealing Josh Shapiro as Kamala Harris' VP pick

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: Philadelphia mayor Cherelle Parker found herself amid a political firestorm after tweeting a video that reveals Pennsylvania Gov Josh Shapiro as the vice-presidential pick of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris on Friday, August 2.

The scoop was shared by Ernest Owens, a reporter for outlets such as Philadelphia Magazine, who posted a thread on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), stating, "Philly political sources have told me that a staffer connected with Mayor Cherelle Parker's team accidentally posted the video today."

"The video was scheduled for Monday...after VP Kamala Harris was expected to announce her pick. It's Josh Shapiro, y'all."

"I'm hearing there's a 'firestorm' right now. I guess that's an understatement," he added.

Cherelle Parker's team 'accidentally' shares video about Josh Shapiro

Through the account @PeopleforParker, the mayor had shared an upbeat video that was over a minute long and featured political and union leaders cheering for VP Harris and Gov Shapiro. Parker herself appears in the clip, saying at a rally, "I can’t think of a better partner than our governor, Josh Shapiro.”

The tweet was captioned, "Proud to be back with so many leaders from across our region supporting @KamalaHarris for President and @JoshShapiroPA for VP!"

However, as speculations peaked, a source close to the member issued a clarification to The Philadelphia Inquirer on the condition of anonymity, stating, "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 similar statement was received by The Guardian, which claimed that Parker's comment at the rally was "NOT an announcement.

"It was merely the mayor supporting the governor’s potential vice presidential candidacy, which she did earlier this week also in Philadelphia,” the statement said.

Internet claims Philadelphia mayor is 'testing the waters'

Users on X had a varied take on Parker's surprising tweet. While some accepted the tweet to be a mistake, others were skeptical about it.

"I'm not convinced Cherelle Parker would even have knowledge ahead of time if Shapiro was the pick or not," stated a user.

"Seems like it was done on purpose since it was not removed after realizing it was posted. Could be a fishing expedition to test the waters by the Harris campaign to see how much of a push back the Shapiro pick receives," wrote another.

"The staffer right now trying to write an apology," quipped a third with a gif.

"Really, really, strange. I'm gonna guess that it was made in advance in case Shapiro was named the V.P. pick but then was posted by mistake. Really don't think the Harris campaign is gonna let the Mayor of Philadelphia know the VP pick three days in advance," noted a fourth user.

"I would be skeptical about this ‘mistake’ but Friday evening is truly not the best time to release big news," commented a fifth.

"I don't believe anything is done by mistake. I think they're just seeing how people will react to Shapiro before they actually announce the VP pick," echoed another.

"Accidental or calculated?" pointedly inquired a seventh.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.