During the 2024 presidential campaign, Gov. Josh Shapiro frequently called Donald Trump an existential threat to American democracy. As Pennsylvania’s attorney general, he regularly boasted about suing and beating up the first Trump administration.
But this year, as Trump retakes the Oval Office and Shapiro eyes the Democratic presidential bid in 2028, the Pennsylvania governor has a recent, more sympathetic game plan: cooperate — as long as it doesn’t threaten residents’ “fundamental liberties.”
Shapiro is among the few 2028 presidential candidates who have already taken a stance on how to work with a second Trump administration, with some Democratic governors in blue states going berserk ahead of another Trump term and others, like Shapiro, in shuttles are taking a more restrained approach.
Governor Gavin Newsom of deep blue California, he quickly called an extraordinary session state legislature to “proof the state against Trump.” In Illinois, another reliably blue state, Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued the warning the day after Trump’s victory: “You come for my people, you come through me.” Meanwhile, Maryland Governor Wes Moore he said he was ready “to push back against this new White House if necessary.”
But Shapiro, who will run for re-election as Pennsylvania governor in 2026, has spent years building a brand as a moderate Democrat willing to work on both sides of the aisle. He has already made it clear that he will not be so strongly opposed to Trump’s second term, but at the same time he assures that he is preparing to defend the country.
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Manuel Bonder, Shapiro’s spokesman, said in a statement that the governor will focus on delivering results for Pennsylvanians through job creation, economic development, education and public safety.
“The Governor has also made clear that he will never shy away from defending the fundamental freedoms of Pennsylvanians,” Bonder added. “The Shapiro Administration is preparing for all scenarios and taking steps to protect our Commonwealth from potential federal actions that could be harmful to Pennsylvania families and communities.” Bonder declined to provide details of the scenarios the administration is preparing for.
A source close to Shapiro said that ahead of Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration, the governor was focused on securing federal funds — which make up about half of state government’s nearly $100 billion in annual spending — trying to get as many federal dollars for Pennsylvania as possible. Trump has promised to abolish many federal agencies, such as the Department of Education, during his second term.
A different tone
Days after the November 2024 presidential election, Shapiro quickly accepted the results and said he would return to “doing everything” for the people of Pennsylvania.
“I know experts will scrutinize every aspect of this election, but for my part, I intend to continue to listen to the good people of Pennsylvania, show respect for their choices, and find ways to bring people together again,” Shapiro said at the time.
It was a very different tone than the one he used during the campaign just days earlier, when he sharply criticized Trump over his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. It also differs from his previous approach as attorney general, in which he touted his numerous legal challenges to the Trump administration, boasting that he had defeated Trump in court more than 40 times over his efforts to overturn state election results in 2020.
Alison Dagnes, chair of political science at Shippensburg University, said Shapiro’s more sympathetic tone may come down to a multi-level calculation: First, he needs to make sure Pennsylvania gets the federal funds it needs from the Trump administration. Second, he must find balance in his rhetoric about Trump to win re-election in 2026 in Pennsylvania, where Trump won by more than 120,000 votes. Third, Shapiro must distinguish himself from other potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates because the party’s primaries often require candidates to shift left to be elected as the running mate.
“He won’t play nice with Trump, but he won’t make him look like a bogeyman by any means,” Dagnes said. “It’s not because he’s afraid, it’s because of the nature of Pennsylvania.”
“Josh Shapiro knows he can’t act like Gavin Newsom in California or Kathy Hochul in New York,” she added. “He must act in such a way that he is re-elected in a country that is so closely divided and then elected in a country that is so evenly divided.”
Balancing for Democrats with a swing state
Shapiro isn’t the only Democratic swing state governor to find himself in such a precarious situation.
Among other candidates likely to run for president in 2028, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signaled she will take a position similar to Shapiro’s during Trump’s second term. Two 2028 presidential candidates lead states that voted for Trump, and this year they will have to deal with a divided Legislature in which one party controls the state Senate and the other controls the state House.
The more restrained approach to the Trump administration also marks a change for Whitmer, who came close to retaliation during Trump’s first presidency after speaking out about him. In 2020, Trump bragged that he told then-Vice President Mike Pence not to answer Whitmer’s calls asking for federal aid to deal with the state’s COVID-19 outbreak, including requests for ventilators and masks.
“Don’t call a woman in Michigan,” Trump told the media in behind schedule March 2020 as the pandemic continued to spread across the country, the news outlet The Michigan Advance reported then. “You know what I’m saying? If they don’t treat you well, I won’t call you.
During Trump’s other term Whitmer told the Michigan Advancewill work with the Trump administration, but expects there will be issues on which the administration cannot reach agreement.
Trump’s unpredictability will also provide an opportunity for Shapiro, Whitmer and others rumored to have higher aspirations for office to claim that they only care about their own well-being as they navigate the president’s responsibilities.
“[Trump] shoots from the hip and sometimes loses balance; “You really don’t know what he’ll do,” Dagnes said. “Shapiro would be wise to keep his nose to the rock and repeat the words over and over: ‘I’m just looking out for the people of Pennsylvania.’
From Montgomery County to the national spotlight
In some ways, Shapiro’s rise to power was tantamount to Trump’s rise. The former Montgomery County commissioner first gained national attention in 2016 when he won Pennsylvania in the same general election as Trump.
Elected to two terms as attorney general, Shapiro has often joined other Democratic attorneys general in suing the Trump administration over federal policies on issues such as reproductive access and the environment. (Shapiro left the AG position in 2023, after he was elected governor). The AG role has given Shapiro a unique advantage — the position has become more nationalized in recent years, with the main challengers being attorneys general across the country for federal policy under the Trump and Biden administrations.
The two have sparred publicly for years. When Shapiro nearly made the presidential ticket as Harris’ running mate in August, he became a regular subject of Trump’s posts on Truth Social. After Shapiro delivered a primetime speech at the Democratic National Convention, Trump attacked the governor on his social media platform, calling him a “highly overrated Jewish governor.” Shapiro quickly responded, accusing Trump of promoting “anti-Semitic tropes” and saying Trump “is obsessed with me.”
But for now, Shapiro’s office says its focus is on Pennsylvania, not 2024 politics.
“As Attorney General, Josh Shapiro sought to protect Pennsylvanians from actions that threatened everything from workers’ rights and their ability to maintain wages, to clean air and clean water, to our voting rights and women’s freedom of choice.” – Bonder, Shapiro’s spokesman said in a statement. “As governor, he will continue to work to defend our democracy, [and] defend our fundamental rights.”
