Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro lashed out at Donald Trump and showed he has the credentials to become Kamala Harris’ running mate.
The Democratic governor argued to Trump that the former president is “weird” and “dangerous” and that he would put “scary things” in his 2024 platform. He also claimed that the former president is “afraid” of the vice president.
But Shapiro also wanted to prove he was ready to take on the Republican vice presidential nominee, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), at a Harris campaign rally outside Philadelphia.
Pennsylvania is of great importance in this election cycle and is one of the few crucial states that could determine the outcome in November.
Trump won Pennsylvania by just 0.7 percent in 2016, but in 2020 the state turned blue, with Biden choosing the incumbent president by a margin of 1.2 percent.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro delivered his first major campaign speech for Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday after it was announced he had been shortlisted as her running mate.
The Keystone State is one of three toss-ups for 2024, according to the Cook Political Report. The other two are the rust belt states of Michigan and Wisconsin.
A Bloomberg report Monday revealed that Shapiro, as well as Arizona Gov. Mark Kelly and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are the three top contenders Harris is considering adding to her ticket.
Shapiro was joined by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday afternoon during a stop in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, where he launched an invective against Trump and Vance, whom he would debate if picked to join Harris’ ticket.
“I have a message for Donald Trump — stop talking about America,” Shapiro told an audience of about 1,000 Democratic voters. “This is the greatest country on earth, let’s start acting like it.”
“Have you ever seen this guy? When he’s on stage, he kind of wriggles around, he can’t really walk very well. And he walks up to the flag and he hugs the flag,” the Pennsylvania governor said, referencing a line the former president sometimes repeats during performances.
“I think the flag is beautiful, but what it does is strange,” Shapiro added.
“But as he embraces the flag, you know what he’s doing? He’s tearing away our freedom. That’s what he’s all about.”
He also claimed that Trump is afraid to debate Harris after the former president said he wouldn’t commit to anything until she is officially the party’s nominee, which happens next month at the Democratic National Convention.
Shapiro tried a number of statements against Donald Trump, including claiming that he “can’t really walk well” and sometimes “slowly” walks up to the American flag on stage to hug it
The governor said Harris is “not just ready, she’s damn ready.”
“You know who else knows she’s ready? Donald Trump knows she’s ready,” Shapiro added.
“And you know how I know that?” he continued. “Because he’s afraid to debate her now. And it’s not just because she’s a skilled debater… He’s afraid to debate her because he can’t defend his record.”
Whitmer claims Harris will choose her running mate within six or seven days.
In her speech in the Wissahickon High School gym on Monday, the Michigan governor appeared to join Shapiro in auditioning for the role of vice president.
“Another governor who believes in our three-part strategy: getting things done,” Whitmer said of her Pennsylvania counterpart.
Then the crowd began to chant the phrase.