Voters don’t care about ideology, they care about deliverables, says Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. He calls himself the GSD governor – “Since this is the Christian Science Monitor, that’s ‘Get Stuff Done,’” he quips at an event hosted by the Monitor, as part of the Monitor Breakfast series.
Mr. Shapiro thinks the Democratic Party would benefit from following this approach. The governor, who was vetted as a possible running mate for Kamala Harris in 2024 and is seen now as a likely top contender for the Democratic nomination in 2028, has drawn attention recently with some criticism of the Biden administration, saying in a podcast this week that it failed to deliver “tangible things that people could see or feel.”
But Mr. Shapiro’s sharpest critiques are aimed at President Donald Trump, who the governor says is making America less safe – placing American citizens at risk through immigration enforcement operations that have turned violent, and damaging perceptions of America abroad.
Why We Wrote This
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro – who is seen as a likely Democratic presidential candidate in 2028 – was the guest at a Monitor Breakfast event on Thursday. In a wide-ranging conversation, he talked about what he thinks voters want from their government, and how President Donald Trump is making America less safe.
“I am concerned that some foreign countries will boycott the World Cup,” Mr. Shapiro says, addressing a question regarding travelers’ worries about their safety inside the United States. Philadelphia is scheduled to host six World Cup matches this summer.
On immigration, Mr. Shapiro, like other Democratic officials, is unequivocal: The federal deportation campaign directed by Mr. Trump is violating the constitutional rights of Americans. The governor says his state is taking steps to prepare “should this come to our door.”
Those plans involve law enforcement, Mr. Shapiro says, though he declines to share specifics. In Minneapolis, the number of federal immigration agents and officers deployed there vastly outnumbers local officers.
He believes the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti last weekend in Minneapolis warrants a state investigation. And based on publicly available evidence, Mr. Shapiro – who was attorney general of Pennsylvania before he was governor – sees a strong case against the federal officers who fired the shots.
For now, he’s focused on his own reelection and helping his party in November’s midterms, which he says will be a referendum on the Trump administration. “I don’t think we should be thinking about anything other than curtailing the chaos, the cruelty, and the corruption of this administration,” he says. “The best way for voters to do that is by showing up in record numbers in these midterms.”
That includes being vigilant about election integrity. A portrait of William Penn, the founder of the Pennsylvania colony, hangs above his desk, Mr. Shapiro notes, emphasizing the commonwealth’s role in establishing the American rights to free elections and freedom of expression and religion. He anticipates a possible showdown with Mr. Trump over those values.
This past fall, the Trump administration requested access to Pennsylvania’s voter rolls – including voters’ personal information. Mr. Shapiro refused. Pennsylvania, along with five other states, is now being sued by the Justice Department. “I do not trust this administration to use [voter rolls] for anything other than nefarious purposes,” he says.
In a telltale sign of an expected presidential campaign, Mr. Shapiro has penned a memoir. In his book, “Where We Keep the Light,” which was released this week, he writes at length about his faith. An observant Jew who keeps kosher, he is candid about the risks to his family in a time of surging antisemitism. Last April, on the first night of Passover, a man set fire to the governor’s residence while Mr. Shapiro, his wife, and their children were asleep inside.
It isn’t just politicians who are being targeted. In the wake of the 2018 attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and the Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel, the governor has had people tell him of their fear to live openly as Jews.
“I’ve felt a responsibility to be more open about my faith,” Mr. Shapiro says. “I have this responsibility now to offer comfort to others.”
The governor also says it is critical to emphasize religious pluralism. The dining room in the governor’s mansion, which was destroyed in the attack last year, has been emblematic of his approach. It has been decorated with Christmas trees, hosted an Iftar dinner, and been the setting for his son’s bar mitzvah.
Mr. Shapiro wishes people Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah, depending on their faith, something he says demonstrates respect for others. “When I see a federal government taking their religion, or any religion, and trying to impose that on others, as a person of faith … that violates everything I believe in,” he says.
“People of different faiths or different religions have strengthened my faith because we found that shared humanity,” the governor says. “That, in many ways, is the American way.”
