Donald Trump Calls Josh Shapiro a ‘Highly Overrated Jewish Governor’ in Social Media Tirade

CHICAGO — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Thursday that former President Donald Trump is “fascinated” by him and accused him of promoting “anti-Semitic tropes” following the former president’s overnight attack on Shapiro on social media.

After Shapiro spoke Wednesday night at the Democratic National Convention, Trump called him “very overrated jewish governor” in a post on his social network Truth. Trump claimed the Democrat “did nothing for Israel” and called his speech “really bad and poorly delivered.” The former president also baselessly claimed that Vice President Kamala Harris “hates Israel” and that he has done more for Israel “than any other person.”

In Chicago on Thursday, Shapiro told reporters: “It’s clear over the last few days that Donald Trump is fascinated by me and is obsessed with further sowing hatred and division in our politics. He’s someone who regularly spreads anti-Semitic tropes like this.”

Shapiro has become a habitual target of Trump in recent weeks, whose criticism has often focused on the governor’s Jewish faith. And the governor has faced weeks of attacks on his religion and stance on Israel from both the left and the right while in the spotlight as a potential vice presidential candidate alongside Harris. Shapiro, who often says his faith led him to a career in public service, has faced more scrutiny and pushback than other candidates during the vetting process.

Some progressive Democrats who oppose President Joe Biden’s handling of Israel’s war with Hamas have urged Harris not to pick Shapiro — the only Jewish candidate running for vice president — even though all the frontrunners share similar views on Israel. Meanwhile, Republicans who strongly support Israel have said Shapiro hasn’t done enough to support the country and have accused Harris of passing him over as a vice presidential candidate because she is anti-Semitic. (Shapiro has vehemently denied those claims, and Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, is Jewish.)

Shapiro, a first-term governor whose visit to the DNC this week ended with his prime-time speech in support of Harris and Walz, will be a prominent Democratic surrogate this fall in his key swing state. And others from Jewish leaders to the White House came to his defense Thursday morning to condemn Trump’s latest attack on him.

Trump’s comments are “a deliberate way to infuriate anti-Semites,” said Rabbi Beth Janus, co-chair of the Greater Philadelphia Council of Rabbis.

Shapiro responds to Trump’s latest attack

Shapiro said Thursday that the way Trump judges Jewish elected officials based on their positions on Israel — and positions himself as the arbiter of who is a good Jewish leader — promotes “the idea of ​​dual loyalty” that is “in its essence anti-Semitic.”

“Jewish elected officials care about a lot of things, like … how do we make sure our kids get a quality education, how do we keep our streets safe, how do we create opportunity,” Shapiro said. “And yes, we care about Israel. But last I checked, the job of governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania did not involve foreign policy toward Israel.”

Shapiro moved quickly to raise funds for Trump’s attacks, sending a text message to his supporters Thursday afternoon asking for their support to “show Donald Trump that the people of our Commonwealth are tired of his division and endless grievances.” He shares the fundraiser with the Harris-Walz campaign.

Earlier this week, Shapiro said he “cannot lecture” Trump on anti-Semitism, after the former president and his running mate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, repeatedly suggested Shapiro was not chosen to be Harris’ running mate because he is Jewish. Trump most recently made the statement at a rally in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday.

“Donald Trump is absolutely saturated with this, and he’s trying to use me, and he’s trying to use other Jews, to further divide the American people,” Shapiro told reporters Monday as the DNC began. “We’ve seen this with Donald Trump time and time again. He’s the least credible person when it comes to standing up to hate and bigotry.”

Ahead of his speech at the Democratic convention on Wednesday, he reiterated that sentiment in Interview with Politico and said Trump is “the number one guy pushing these types of stereotypes into our politics.”

“This guy has absolutely no credibility to speak on these issues,” Shapiro added.

Janus, the Philadelphia rabbi, said Trump’s recent comments were a “wake-up call.”

“Why does he emphasize that he is Jewish? Why does it matter to his role as governor of our community?” Janus asked.

The White House also responded Thursday to Trump’s recent comments about Shapiro, with Biden’s spokesman calling the comments “anti-Semitic, dangerous and hurtful.”

Shapiro’s stance on Israel and his response to criticism

Shapiro said in an interview with Politico on Wednesday, broadcast live from the convention in Chicago, that the attacks on his faith and support for Israel when he was being considered as a vice presidential candidate alongside Harris did not bother him, but he noted that the rhetoric had an impact on others.

“I understand that I was attacked for my faith,” Shapiro said of the public scrutiny he has faced. “I am very proud of my faith. My faith calls me to serve. These attacks did not hurt my feelings. … What upset me about it was the way it made other people feel.”

Shapiro told Politico that he had heard from teenage Jews who said they were worried about their faith after seeing him attacked, which made him furious. He also confirmed that Harris’ decision had nothing to do with his Jewish faith.

The governor also reiterated his stance on Israel’s war with Hamas, condemning Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel and saying he mourned the deaths of tens of thousands of people in the Gaza Strip.

“I don’t think those two concepts are mutually exclusive for everyone involved,” Shapiro added. “I want to see the hostages come home, and I want to see an end to the violence.”

Shapiro also criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling him a “terrible leader” and “leading Israel down a dangerous and destructive path long before October 7.”

Shapiro also had some comments for Trump: The former president “has been rejected time and time again by the voters of Pennsylvania,” Shapiro told reporters on Thursday.

“He lost in 2020,” he said. “All of his handpicked candidates lost, and I think he’s headed for another loss to Kamala Harris.”

On Wednesday night, Shapiro used his brief but forceful speech at the DNC to attack Trump and Republicans for trying to restrict the freedoms of Americans across the country. In his speech, he did not mention his own Jewish heritage or faith, instead focusing on promoting Harris and Walz.

“One sec [Trump] “wraps itself in a blanket of freedom, what it offers is not freedom at all,” Shapiro said. “Because it’s not freedom to tell our children what books they can read. It’s not freedom to tell women what they can do with their bodies. And it’s certainly not freedom to say you can go vote, but he picks the winner.”

Contributors Fallon Roth and Julia Terruso contributed to this article.