Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro he called President Donald Trump on Friday morning in a television interview he presented evidence of non-citizen voting in the Commonwealth and across the country.
Appearing on MS Now’s “Morning Joe,” the governor talked about the president’s 23-minute address to the nation on Thursday night, in which Trump attacked the results of the 2020 election, which he lost. Joe Biden.
“I thought it was an unfortunate day for America to have an unhinged president in the White House spreading a whole bunch of conspiracy theories that just have no bearing on reality,” Shapiro said. “Let me remind you that every time Donald Trump and his enablers were forced to provide evidence to support their absurd claims, he failed.”
Shapiro, a former Commonwealth attorney general, pointed out that Trump sued him “43 times to try to throw out votes in Pennsylvania,” claiming a 43-0 result.
During his speech, Trump talked about China’s voter data compromise, an alleged conspiracy by the U.S. political and security establishment to minimize Chinese interference, and broader efforts to lull the American public into a false sense of security about the integrity of U.S. elections.
“If the president was truly concerned about China trying to interfere in our elections, he would have raised this issue when he was with (the Chinese president). Xi (Jinping)“Instead, he went abroad and returned home with nothing. He cowered in Xi’s presence.
“If he was actually really concerned about the integrity of the election, then yes would not deprive the agency of resources which actually protects states against attempts at foreign interference. “It was all nonsense and was simply aimed at suppressing the vote and undermining the trust of citizens.”
Shapiro said he’s pinning his hopes on voters in Pennsylvania and across the country to make a difference.
“I hope this midterm election will be a referendum on Donald Trump’s chaos, cruelty and corruption,” the governor said. “Yes, in swing states like mine, but also across the United States, for people to show up in record numbers to speak out against the president’s lawlessness and his conspiracy theories and to make it very, very clear that this is not who we are as Americans and this is not something that we will accept here in this country as normal, and that requires everyone to show up and vote.”
Trump called out Shapiro during Wednesday’s speech at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit, saying the governor “is completely overrated.”
“I saw him give a speech the other night and he said he didn’t have what it takes,” the president said. Perhaps he will win and that is what is expected of him. But I hear things about Stacy (Garrity) and some of the polls are very good. But Shapiro is like that, he doesn’t have what it takes.
Shapiro fired back, criticizing Trump for Pennsylvanians’ economic woes.
“Whether it’s the pump, the grocery store, health care, our farmers, they’re all falling for Donald Trump’s higher costs,” Shapiro said. “Here in Pennsylvania, I’ve cut taxes 10 times to put money back into people’s pockets. But every time I put a dollar in someone’s pocket, Donald Trump’s policies take two dollars away from someone else.”
Shapiro thought it was the right thing to do Commonwealth Secretary Al Schmidta Republican in a Democratic administration.
“We believe that here in Pennsylvania, election administration is nonpartisan,” the governor said. “It has to be above politics, and it has been. We are prepared here in the courts and here in the community to protect citizens’ right to vote. People will have access to the ballot box whether they choose to vote by mail or in person.”
On Thursday, the governor was asked about a statement from the Department of Homeland Security that said thousands of foreigners were on voter rolls in Pennsylvania, California, New Jersey and Nevada.
The DHS news release did not say whether there was evidence that foreigners actually voted or how the agency reached its findings. The release stated that 14,576 noncitizens registered to vote in Pennsylvania and an upcoming letter from DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin will ask states to “respond within two weeks and confirm their willingness to cooperate with DHS to ensure free, fair and reliable elections.”
“We take any claim that anyone did anything illegal in connection with our elections very, very seriously,” Shapiro responded. “If we ever find evidence of this, we immediately turn it over to prosecutors. I would tell the administration that if you have any real evidence of this, turn it over to us. We want to work to ensure that there is always integrity in our system, as we believe there is because we have repeatedly held free, fair, secure and protected elections.”
“If you have information, please share it with us and let’s try to solve this problem together. But I think at the end of the day, what they really have is a lot of conspiracy theories, and they’re just trying to suck up to their boss and please him at a time when he’s becoming more and more unhinged and disconnected from reality.”
Shapiro also unloaded in Texas” Ken Paxtonwho as state Attorney General in 2020. filed a lawsuit against Pennsylvania and three other states for “violating the security and integrity of the 2020 elections.”
“I fought Ken Paxton. I won and we protected the vote here in Pennsylvania. And I hope like hell that the people of Texas will stand up and vote against him in this election and vote for James Talarico. Ken Paxton has no respect for the rule of law, and he certainly has no respect for the voters here in Pennsylvania. That’s why he lost repeatedly.”
Editor’s note: Added letter received from Secretary Schmidt of DHS
