Gov. Josh Shapiro’s latest spotlight is his most important yet after Trump assassination attempt
The governor has stepped into the national spotlight several times during his first term as governor. But none more important than Sunday, when the threat of political violence hit home.
To Gov. Josh Shapiro, Corey Comperatore’s political leanings didn’t matter.
The Democratic governor spoke Sunday with Comperatore’s wife and two daughters after he was killed at a rally for former President Donald Trump.
Comperatore was a “girl dad” and firefighter who loved his family, Shapiro told reporters gathered in Butler Township after the conversation. He has been excited to see his favorite presidential candidate. And he died a hero, throwing his body over his family when shots rang out.
The first-term governor has stepped into the national spotlight several times during his first year and a half as Pennsylvania’s chief executive. But the stakes were especially high over the weekend, when political violence struck his home state.
The governor, who ran in 2022 on a promise of bipartisanship and has become a key surrogate to President Joe Biden, said Sunday that leaders “have an obligation to speak and act with moral clarity” in the wake of the assassination attempt against Trump by a 20-year-old man from a suburb of Pittsburgh. His strong call for “lowering the temperature” adds to his national recognition as a moderate governor from a swing state — someone Democrats want to lean on in 2024 and beyond.
But toning down political rhetoric to unite a state as deeply divided as Pennsylvania will prove difficult. Republican critics pointed to Shapiro’s statements against Trump — some as recent as last week, in which Shapiro called him “dangerous” and a threat to democracy — as proof that the governor does not practice what he’s preaching in the wake of the shooting.
State Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R., Beaver), a conservative member of Pennsylvania’s Freedom Caucus who represents the area where the attack took place, claimed Shapiro’s comments and Democrats’ beliefs at-large helped incite the attempted assassination of Trump.
“He says that President Trump is an existential threat to democracy, and then talks about toning down the rhetoric he himself encouraged,” Bernstine said.
Shapiro, however, transitioned quickly in the wake of the assassination attempt that left one Pennsylvanian (plus the gunman) dead and two others critically wounded to position himself as a leader with a solemn, bipartisan tone.
Shapiro spoke privately with Comperatore’s family, as well as the family of one of the other injured victims. (Shapiro tried to reach the other victim’s family on Sunday, but they could not be reached, a spokesperson said.) He also spoke with Republican members of Congress and state lawmakers who attended the rally. He was lauded by some Republicans nationally, including Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, and praised by pro-democracy groups hoping to quell future threats of violence.
“My message to all Pennsylvanians, to all Americans, is to be firm in your beliefs. To believe what you believe, to advocate for what you believe, and to engage in the political and civic process, but to always do so peacefully,” Shapiro added. “Disagreements are OK, but we need to use the peaceful political process to settle those differences.”
His remarks on Sunday, made while standing outside the Butler Township Municipal Building alongside Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Col. Christopher Paris, echoed what Pennsylvanians have come to expect from Shapiro, who constantly talks about finding middle ground with political opponents and enjoys bipartisan support despite the state’s divisions.
“He has a knack for hitting the right tone in an array of situations, but this one just jumped out,” said Mike Mikus, a Pittsburgh-based Democratic strategist. “He was true to himself and his political values, but at the same time, offering sympathy for those who were affected by this shooting.”
Shapiro focused on the three Pennsylvanians who were victims, expressed well wishes for Trump, and emphasized that Pennsylvania officials are helping federal investigators.
“What the country and what Pennsylvania needs right now is to be clear about the absolute unacceptability of political violence,” said Philip Hensley-Robin, the executive director of good government advocacy group Common Cause Pennsylvania. “It’s heartening when folks across the political spectrum stand up and make that clear.”
The shooting came after Shapiro’s national profile has only increased in recent weeks, as his name has been added to short lists of potential candidates to replace President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee, or to join Vice President Kamala Harris on the party’s ticket in November.
Last Thursday, Shapiro said he stood by Biden and said Trump is an “existential threat to this country.” He said he’d do “everything I can politically” to “show how dangerous Donald Trump would be.”
Manuel Bonder, a spokesperson for Shapiro, emphasized that Shapiro, throughout his time as an elected official, “has condemned violence and worked to bring people together, and he will continue to urge his fellow Pennsylvanians to engage in our politics peacefully.”
It’s unclear how long the pause in political rhetoric from the governor — and other politicians — will continue.
But for now, he’s drawing some praise from the other side of the aisle. State House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler (R., Lancaster) said he appreciated Shapiro’s remarks calling Comperatore a hero.
”I think that’s very true,” Cutler said as he attended the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. “He was protecting his family, and as a father, that’s something I can relate to.”
Staff writer Julia Terruso contributed to this article.