Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro taunted former President Donald Trump and offered advice for Vice President Kamala Harris during a conversation with POLITICO on Wednesday evening.
Shapiro, who is scheduled for a primetime address at the Democratic National Convention tonight, spoke with John Harris, Global Editor-in-Chief, POLITICO, for 35 minutes about a host of topics, including Trump who Shapiro has roasted as both a Biden and Harris surrogate.
“Since that night in 2016, every single time Donald Trump or one of his offspring have been on the ballot, they’ve gotten beat,” said Shapiro. “I beat his offspring, Doug Mastriano, and a whole lot of other candidates who tried to adopt Trumpism have lost. You’ve seen that not just statewide. You’ve seen that in school board races. You’ve seen that in other competitive districts as well. So I think while there’s some energy and fervency toward him, it has not been a winning formula.
“Remember 2016 but he lost in 2020 by twice the amount of votes that he won by in 2016 so let’s not lose sight of that fact, and let’s not lose sight of the fact that Donald Trump, when he was in office, brought a whole lot of chaos, fewer jobs and a lot less freedom to Pennsylvania and across the country.”
Shapiro, perhaps in a foreshadowing of his address later Wednesday, reminded those in the audience of Trump’s time in the White House.
“Remember what he did when he had the keys to the White House, the first time he ripped away the fundamental freedom for millions of women to be able to make decisions over their own bodies,” said the governor. “And remember, he did not know what the hell he was doing when he got there and he had guard rails around him. He had people around him who were stopping him from doing stuff. He’s unmoored. He’s got no guard rails. He’s got no conviction other than, you know, the 34 felonies. And this is a guy who, right now, fundamentally, is dangerous when it comes to our democracy, and wants to restrict more of our freedoms and will inject more chaos in our lives.”
The first-term governor of the Commonwealth addressed the selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for the No. 2 spot on the Democratic ticket, after it was widely speculated that Shapiro was under serious consideration for the slot.
“This was never a political conversation,” said Shapiro. “I said for two weeks leading up to it, that this was a deeply personal decision for the vice president. Sure, it’s also a deeply personal decision for me, right? And so I think it’s important that folks understand that. Sure, there’s political considerations, but the end of the day, this is about her vision for that office, and who best fits that vision for that office.
“I mean this respectfully to any other elected official, I think I got the best job in American politics being the governor of Pennsylvania. One of the things I say as I travel across the Commonwealth and try and motivate others to pass bills or make investments to help other people is I think every Pennsylvanian should have the freedom to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed. And for me, I’ve always tried to do my politics in a way that I could chart my own course, and I love being able to do that.”
The governor commended the Harris-Walz team for not ignoring the areas of Pennsylvania that are not Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, or their immediate suburbs.
“I think what I’ve seen from the Vice President and Governor Walz over the last even just week, showing up in a community like Beaver County, which is Southwestern Pennsylvania, outside of Pittsburgh. That is a really important sign that they understand the importance of not just women in Philly and Pittsburgh and the Philly suburbs, but in these other communities that have oftentimes been left behind. There are other communities like that. They’re showing up there.”
He also offered advice for the vice president for the key to success in Pennsylvania – ‘Just Keep Moving.’
“I think what I’m seeing is a nominee in Kamala Harris, who knows she’s going to get politically punched, but has a history of being able to absorb the punch and punch back even harder,” said Shapiro. “What I’m seeing is Donald Trump not having any idea how to handle her because he doesn’t know how to handle strong women. I think we have seen that throughout his failed career, and he is someone, who I think, even if he figures out how to land that punch, will be met with a swift counterpunch. The key is in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. Just keep moving. Absorb it. Keep moving forward. Stay on offense.”
A devout Jew, Shapiro also spoke on the topic of antisemitism.
“It is true that there is antisemitism in our country, and let’s be frank, it’s true that there’s antisemitism in our politics, in both parties,” said the governor. “I think it’s really critical that leaders speak and act with moral clarity, speak out against that. I also think that moral clarity shouldn’t be limited to only speaking out against antisemitism. We’ve seen a rise in Islamophobia. We got to stand up and speak out against that we can never condone – racism, homophobia, any form of hatred and bigotry. By the way, the number one guy who pushes these types of tropes into our politics is Donald Trump, and so we got to speak out against that.
“What happened on October 7 needs to be condemned by everyone,” he continued. “1200 people who were killed at a music festival, the kibbutz in their community, the hundreds who were taken hostage, including Americans, some lose sight of that, at the hands of a defined terrorist organization, Hamas, defined by the United States government. It is true that we need to grieve for them. It is also true that we can grieve for those who are dying in Gaza, for the innocent lives that are being lost there, that are being taken there. I don’t think those two concepts are mutually exclusive.”
Shapiro also addressed questions about his relationship with Pennsylvania’s junior senator – John Fetterman.
“I think folks are making too much of this,” he said. “And listen my team, and John’s team, Bob Casey’s team, our entire congressional delegation, Republican, Democrat, we all work really well together. They’re doing important work for Pennsylvania. I need them to be successful so we can be successful in Pennsylvania. They need me to be successful so they can do what they do at the federal level, and I’m grateful for their service. I’m grateful for John’s service, Bob Casey’s service, and we’re going to continue to work well together.”