Gov. Josh Shapiro started Tuesday the way he’s spent much of December — drawing sharp contrasts with President Trump, this time just hours before the Republican’s high-profile visit to Pennsylvania.
Billed as a chance to refocus his message on kitchen-table concerns, Mr. Trump’s stop also has given Mr. Shapiro a national stage.
The governor, seen as a likely 2028 presidential contender, has distinguished himself as one of the few Democrats who’s managed to connect with working-class voters — many of whom left the party for Mr. Trump.
In a morning post on X, the 52-year-old Shapiro touted a tax credit he signed into law to help lift “hardworking moms, dads, and seniors who just need a little extra help getting by.”
“This isn’t some government handout for those who don’t need it,” he added. “So while the Trump Administration continues to make life less affordable for millions of Pennsylvanians, we’re focused on cutting costs and making the day-to-day a little easier.”
Mr. Shapiro has made no secret of his view that Mr. Trump’s pull with voters who feel abandoned by Democrats comes from his party’s elite image — some of which he admits is warranted — and from Mr. Trump selling them bogus promises that are now falling apart under the weight of economic struggles in his second term.
Mr. Trump has rebuffed the line of attack, saying he inherited an inflationary mess from President Biden and is fixing it.
Chris Borick, a political science professor at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania, said Mr. Shapiro has been sharpening his attacks, edging closer to other Democrats eyeing presidential bids and eager to tap into the party’s deep well of anti-Trump sentiment.
“Shapiro has become increasingly aggressive in his criticisms of Trump’s policies and performance — often sharing these critiques in national media venues,” Mr. Borick said. “While he has, of course, never been chummy with Trump, Shapiro has traditionally been a bit more measured in his attacks on the president than other prominent Democratic governors such as Govs. Gavin Newsom or J.B. Pritzker.
“This seems to be changing a bit in terms of the number and tenor of Shapiro’s criticisms of Trump. The president’s visit to the commonwealth certainly gives Shapiro a perfect opportunity to display this more aggressive posture.”
Around the same time that Mr. Trump was scheduled to address a crowd in Pennsylvania — where many assumed he would continue to blame President Biden and Democrats for the nation’s economic challenges — Mr. Shapiro planned to highlight his bipartisan credentials in Washington.
He was set to appear on stage with Republican Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah at the National Cathedral to discuss the rising threat of political violence.
Around the same time that Mr. Trump was scheduled to address the crowd in Pennsylvania, Mr. Shapiro planned to appear on stage with Republican Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah at the National Cathedral in Washington to talk about the rising threat of political violence.
Since the start of the month, Mr. Shapiro has knocked Mr. Trump more than a dozen times on social media.
The governor has blamed him for what he calls economic and political chaos coming out of Washington and accused him of “raking in billions for himself and his family” as ordinary Americans struggle with rising costs from his “reckless” tariffs and his refusal to extend COVID-era health care subsidies.
Meanwhile, Mr. Shapiro has cast himself as someone who fights for blue-collar voters across Pennsylvania. He points to efforts in the state to expand child care, boost education spending, improve public safety and create jobs.
On the eve of Mr. Trump’s visit, the governor sharpened his attacks during an appearance on MS NOW, warning that voters will begin tuning out the president if he continues to spread “more BS” about the economy while ignoring rising prices.
“What you have is a president who seems to want to blame everyone else, whose economic policies are failing,” he said. “As a result of his tariffs, things cost more, whether you are at the grocery store or you are a farmer.
“He is putting people out of business as a result of his economic policies, and I think folks are smarter, and too smart to believe his rhetoric.”
Mr. Shapiro’s immediate priority is winning reelection next year and helping Democrats notch strong results across the ballot. He begins from a position of strength: A recent Quinnipiac survey found that registered voters in Pennsylvania approve of his job performance by 60%, including 66% of independents and 28% of Republicans.
The same poll showed Mr. Trump’s approval rating in Pennsylvania underwater at 43%, with more voters saying the economy has worsened, 41%, than improved, 21%, since he returned to office in January.
State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who is seeking the GOP gubernatorial nomination, is working to chip away at Mr. Shapiro’s support.
Ms. Garrity has accused Mr. Shapiro of using Pennsylvania as a stepping stone to the White House and exaggerating his record on the economy.
“Josh Shapiro might be able to fool his liberal donors in New York and California with these kinds of ’facts,’ but he can’t fool Pennsylvanians,” she said last week.
She also has warned voters — particularly those who supported both Mr. Trump and Mr. Shapiro in recent elections — that the Democratic governor has weaponized the courts against Mr. Trump at taxpayer expense, while benefiting from contributions from “Trump’s top hater: ultra-liberal George Soros.”
“Josh Shapiro: radically liberal, ethically challenged,” a narrator declared in a recent Garrity campaign ad. “Stay tuned…”
