Host: All right, everybody. We've got an incredible guest today. Governor Josh Shapiro is here. Obviously, Governor of Pennsylvania. He's got uh record setting popularity in Pennsylvania right now. 60% approval at least. He's a moderate. Uh he's focused on getting done, GSD. He's tough on crime. Ranked number one according to my notes on charging Medicaid fraud. He's pro data center. He's got a nuance take on Israel. And he's a baller apparently. Cut to the tape.

Host: Got him. There he is. Oh my god. Here's your governor. Look at those short shorts. Holy cow. Incredible. Wow. It's the late '8s. And based on the VHS tape, this looks like the 80s.

Josh Shapiro: Yeah, that was 1990, I think. Look at that. Playing the point.

Host: Very nice. Very nice. That was back when people shot mid-range jumpers. They don't do that anymore, man. They don't do that. They should.

Josh Shapiro: All threes. Yeah. I mean, we have a couple of players and and we were talking before the show started. You're obviously a big Philly fan. I'm a big Nick fan. So, I will see you at the games. We're on a collision course.

Host: By the way, with all due respect, and I hope we have a good conversation here. I hope to never see you at the games because if you're showing up in Philly with all your Knicks crap on, I'm not going to be a happy guy. Oh, look at a selfie courtside with my friend uh Dave who is one of the co-owners of the team who's a mutual friend of ours um who I think egg you on a little bit to come on the program here.

Josh Shapiro: He did which I appreciate. He said go on all in. They have thoughtful conversations and anxious to have on with you. So thanks for having me.

Host: Yeah. There's so much for us to talk about but I I thought I would start with your track record in Pennsylvania. And the reason I wanted to start there is because there's a bit of a collision course happening right now between you and Gavin. Gavin's got what I would describe as a variable um tenure here in California. Um I left California for Texas because I just thought it was a bit of a disaster, but you're doing great in your state. And that's in the face of New York, my hometown, New Jersey, Boston, like losing a lot of business leaders. Uh and you've been scoring, you know, some big wins. So when you look at your track record, maybe you could just educate the audience on what you've gotten done and maybe in comparison to what's happening in those other states uh with other Democratic leaders because you seem to be maybe the exception to this rule that Democrats aren't getting it done on a business level.

Josh Shapiro: Well, look, I'm proud of what we've done. I'm not in comparison with Gavin or any other Democratic governor. I'll just talk about what we've done here in Pennsylvania. We are a progrowth state. We want businesses to come here and grow. I'm proud of the fact that we've created more jobs in all but two states in the entire country. We've cut taxes seven different times to be more competitive. Cut taxes for small businesses. Also for families trying to afford child care for seniors, for working Pennsylvania. Um we've taken our permitting process. That's the the usually the the ticket you need say to build your building, right? If you're trying to build something here in Pennsylvania, we were bottom five in the country. I think we're now a national model, easily top five in terms of speed. We've got a money back guarantee on all of our permits. If we don't get you your permit in time, we'll give you your money back. And fun fact, we've issued 40 million permits during my time as governor. We've only had to issue five refunds, meaning only five of those permits were late. Um, we are now the only growing economy in the northeastern part of the United States. At the same time, we're investing in workforce development, especially if you don't have a college degree, tripling funding for VOTE and apprenticeship programs and understanding the need to take the workforce we have today and prepare them for um jobs here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I'm proud that we've got an unemployment rate below the national rate consistently over the last 32 months. I think it is really critical that every kid born in Pennsylvania gets a great quality education, that that kid has a safe street to walk down to get to school or wherever else they're going, and that they've got a job in the community that they love. Those to me are the core foundational principles. It's what we focus on every single day. Our mantra, as you said at the top, is GSD, get done. Those are the areas where we focus on getting done. And I think we're putting a lot of points on the board every single day that's having a meaningful difference in people's lives.

Host: How are you getting that done? Just take the permitting as an example. Why is it so dysfunctional in California? You know, obviously I'm an investor in technology companies and we just saw red tape after red tape. Then on housing, it's incredibly hard to build anything. The nimiism, you know, if you cast a shadow, nothing can be built. And then housing prices keep going up. And you know, if you want to hire a nanny or a teacher uh or you know, if a firefighter moves in, they can't even afford a home in the community that they're servicing. So, how did you fix this? And why can't other states not fix it?

Josh Shapiro: I mean, look, I I can't speak to how it's done in California. I'll just tell you in Pennsylvania, the way we start the conversation is by recognizing permits are critically important to economic development and to creating jobs. Right? If we the government can move at the speed of business, if I can give you as a CEO predictability to know your business is going to be open in six months instead of three years, right? Because the permit took too long, then you're going to want to invest here. So, we sort of start with the important idea that permits matter. Second, when you come into our state government to get your permit, let's just use building a building as an example, right? We want to get to yes. We still want to protect the environment and public health and public safety and we do that, but we want to get to yes. So, our attitude has shifted. Third, we've got to have that money back guarantee because that money back guarantee holds the bureaucracy accountable. Now, I will tell you that some of this we've done administratively, meaning I've signed executive orders and we've made those changes. But on other things, we've worked with the legislature to pass new laws to speed up our permitting. And it hasn't always been easy. understand I'm a Democrat as a governor. I've got a divided legislature. I was the only governor for a while with a divided legislature. Now there's one other. I've got a Senate led by Republicans by just two seats and a House led by Democrats by just one seat. But this is an area where I've been able to bring Democrats and Republicans together in order to make progress in terms of passing this um this permitting reform. And again, proof is in the pudding. What we are seeing is that businesses are coming here and the economy is growing. Let me give you one more example. This may seem really small to you, but it's a big deal. Okay. When I talk about a permit, if you want to be a barber in Pennsylvania, you need a permit or technically it's called a license, but I put it all in your... the day I took office, it took 20 days for a barber to get their permit to be able to go out and cut hair. Today, you get it same day. you get it within that day. That may seem silly to you, but but it but but understand I called my barber. I asked him, I said, "How many heads do you cut a day?" He said, "About 10 a day at 20 bucks a pop. 200 bucks a day for two for 20 days." That's real money. That's thousands of dollars that we're putting into that barber's pocket just because we got them their permit more quickly. So, I know it may sound nerdy. It may sound wonky, but whether you're building some big building that's going to house hundreds of workers or thousands of people who are living there, or whether you're the local barber that everybody needs to go to to get to get their haircut, this stuff matters. And the quicker you are, the more jobs you create and the more money you put in people's pockets. It also matters I think on a philosophical basis of who is the government working for themselves and their timelines or for the people who put them in office. And I think that's the philosophy just at least watching it happen in New York and California is the opposite of what you described. There's no sense of urgency and there's almost a situation where people believe it's intractable that they can't change it. And so that's I think such an important point is that you actually made it happen.

Host: I think that's a great point. I I want to focus on what you just said there. Um first off, I I start the conversation believing that government can be a force for good in people's lives. Second, that we got to figure out a way to get to yes, whether it's building a building or whether it's getting that mom the support she needs for her kid with autism who needs support. We got to figure out a way to get to yes and get them um that help. Then you you mentioned uh in your question the way people get I I I don't recall if you use the word frustrated or or they feel you know um that that government's sort of holding them back right not sure... it's oppressive in a way right just if you have that experience three or four times whether it's at the airport or getting your driver's license or getting the haircuting you know certificate like it's just oppressive over time you just feel like the government's working against you.

Josh Shapiro: Yeah. And what does that what does that person feel after they try and get their permit, they can't get it, they try and open up their small business, it won't work. They get frustrated by they get pissed. And then not only are they pissed at that agency or that governor or they're pissed at, you know, that state government, they also grow, and this is an important point, a little more cynical about government and a little bit more frustrated about the process. And when that happens, I think that that creates more distrust in our system. And it creates more opportunity for, I think, frankly, dark voices on extremes to come in and take advantage of people. I I I find that, you know, if we get it done the right way, if we process things quickly, if we get people to Yes. then maybe a byproduct of that is a little bit less cynicism in our system.

Host: Yeah. and the horseshoe theory that you're kind of referencing there. These two extremes just taking over the conversation, that's not what the majority of the country wants. They they want to just live in a high functioning society. It was curious how you look at fraud. Um waste, fraud, and abuse. my friend Elon to drop a name, you know, did this doge thing. It was a little controversial, but I think what we've seen is, hey, 20 30% of every tax dollar collected is wasted. Some of it's fraud, some of it's just incompetence. It could be anything on that spectrum. And this seems to be the Republican party's rallying cry to beat the Democrats going into California and prosecuting people, Michigan, etc. You have seem to have gotten ahead of this. You've been doing this for years. So maybe you could explain your take on fighting fraud, specifically healthcare or in other areas.

Josh Shapiro: Yeah, look, look, I think we've got to focus on rooting fraud out of the system. Now, you and I may differ on, hey, should we spend a dollar on that initiative or not? And by the way, those are super healthy differences and we should argue that out. We should debate that. But where we should have no difference is if someone's stealing that dollar instead of going to its intended purpose, we should be against that. And and I am. Prior to serving as governor and having the privilege of sitting here uh in this office serving the good people of Pennsylvania, I was the state's attorney general. And you'll remember back during COVID, there were those PPP loans to help our small businesses and other businesses stay afloat. We'd probably agree like good idea, right? We got to keep businesses afloat. But during that time, I went out and prosecuted a whole bunch of people for stealing that PPP money, for not using it for its intended purposes. Here as governor, I've maintained a similar focus through my office of inspector general, rooting out fraud, through making sure, by the way, we're not fronting you money when you're going out and providing, say, human services. You have to submit for reimbursements, and you've got to make sure you prove that you did that work. When we find that someone took advantage of the system, we're referring them to prosecutors. I'm proud of the fact that we've had more Medicaid fraud prosecutions in Pennsylvania, I think any other state. Maybe there was one other. We're we're certainly toward the top of that list. Proud of the fact that we've identified that. We've sent it to prosecutors and and we've addressed it. If we can address it administratively, we do. If not, we understand that those things need to be prosecuted. We should have a zero tolerance policy for that. We should make sure that if we're going to utilize a hardearned dollar of a taxpayer for a purpose like providing someone with health care that they need, we got to make sure that that dollar makes its way to that person so they get their healthcare. And you know, our folks are working really hard on that in Pennsylvania.

Host: So pro business, uh, less regulation, lowering taxes, eliminating fraud, um, and all of this is just getting done in the state. And then, you know, the next piece that in at least my community, people who are creators of businesses, venture capitalists, angel investors, founders, we pay our taxes, pay a lot of taxes, uh, depending on which state you live in. And then there's this, you should be paying more taxes in Pennsylvania, man. stop paying them elsewhere. Yeah. Well, the and you know, we then get struck with this California law and uh a lot of my friends have moved to Austin where I live now. They just said suddenly, hey, we want to seize 5% of whatever you got. Uh you already paid your taxes. You haven't paid capital gains on some of this equity you own in your company. Maybe it's paper wealth. Maybe it's your company went public now and you could sell some of it, but you might cradle the stock if you do. uh and Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and California, all trying to seize assets. And this has really hit the creator, the business creators in a in a really offensive way to the point at which they're moving. We lost California lost Sergey Travis from Uber just fleeing fleeing on mass in the last 12 months. Do you believe in these wealth taxes and do you believe in seizing people's assets on gains they've never uh received? It's a it seems to be getting momentum.

Josh Shapiro: I mean, I'll just say we've cut taxes seven times in Pennsylvania. We've got one of the lowest income taxes in the entire country. That's why I'm joking with you. You should come to Pennsylvania and locate here. Uh and and look, I mean, that kind of tax that you're describing is not something we have here. It's certainly not something on on my agenda. I do think people need to pay their fair share. I think you'd agree with that. We need to make sure that we are easing the burden on those who are working and who are at the lowest, you know, sort of economic point on the scale. And we got to make sure that folks at the top are paying their their fair share uh in order to to sustain our society. And I think we've struck a really good balance here in Pennsylvania. And I think our growth numbers bear that out. Uh I think seeing more people coming to this state bears that out and I think there's an important stat. One of the things you you cited in those um entrepreneurs as as you were going through your question is you know these are people who kind of started with a dream with an idea that you know someone might have looked at and said geez I I don't know about that but they stuck with it and and they built up their companies. we see here in Pennsylvania, particularly when it comes to life sciences, right? We're seeing people plant a flag here in Pennsylvania. Start with an idea that others might think, boy, I I don't know about that. But then because of our tax environment in Pennsylvania, because of our progrowth approach in Pennsylvania, we're seeing more of those small businesses, more of those small companies, especially in life sciences, survive that sort of valley where a lot of those companies go out of business and sustain themselves here because again, I think we're showing that we're progrowth. We've got a smart tax environment for them. And by the way, after we invest in them, after we give them a shot, and after they do well, we expect them to pay their fair share back to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. And I think that's that's the approach we've taken, and it's working.

Host: Yeah. And so, if you're not in favor of a wealth tax, what would you do to deal with maybe this disparity in uh wealth that we're seeing? There was just some statistics that came out the other day. I'm sure you saw them. The upper middle class has just been surging. middle class going down a bit and people in the lower rungs going down as well. So people may feel like they're not making enough money but in reality what's happening is people feel other people have made a tremendous amount of money which is true because of equity holdings are growing much better than salaries ever will and only 40% only 50% of the country really participates in a meaningful way in equities. The other 40 50% don't have any exposure to that. So, how would you deal with somebody making, you know, a hundred billion dollars, $500 billion, a trillion dollars? Yeah. And never selling their equity or maybe not selling it for 20 years. How do you think about that?

Josh Shapiro: Let me make sort of three points, a Pennsylvania point, and a couple broader points. One, you cannot have a national economy that works if it's only working for the 1%. And you pointed out in your question, the wage disparity and the disparity of income. You have to make sure that there is opportunity for those at all different income levels. And look, as we sit here today, if you're making a million versus $50,000, take a million, you're going to be able to buy some stuff that someone at $50,000 can't buy, right? We sort of understand that. But you got to have opportunity and you've got to have a level playing field and you got to have a fair shot and you got to have a tax system that works in a fair way. So that's sort of point one. Point two is here in Pennsylvania, we've tried to address some of that economic disparity by passing the first ever working Pennians's tax credit. Sort of a stateide earned income tax credit. So what we're saying is if you're working, if you're going out and busting your home, we're going to put some money back in your pocket. About 940,000, almost a million Pennians are going to qualify for a little over 800 bucks back in their pockets. So that's going to help not only today with rising cost due to a lot of these federal policies, but it's going to put money back in people's pockets, allow them to make, you know, the the the investments they need to make in their everyday lives. Here's the third point. What I would not do, because you asked what I would do, what I would not do is what President Trump did at the federal level with an aid and assist from a whole bunch of sick and fancy in Congress by passing that budget bill or the beautiful budget bill or whatever the hell they call it. In effect, what they did was they gave a tax cut for those who simply do not need it. Right? And by the way, you know, in the Palace of Truth and Justice, you talk to those folks, they know that they didn't need that tax cut. And what happens as a result of that is I've got 500,000 Pennians who are going to lose their health care. I've got 120,000 who have already lost their healthcare. another 320,000 or so. We're likely to lose Medicaid next year. I've got 26 rural hospitals that are likely to shutter because these are rural hospitals that are working at an operating deficit and they're relying so much on Medicaid, which has been slashed by the federal government. So the idea that Donald Trump thought it was smart economic policy to give a tax cut to those who don't need it and pay for it with those who were struggling where and create even greater economic disparities that is going to hold back our entire economy. Just take those 500,000 people who aren't going to have healthcare. You're paying for that and I'm paying for that with our private insurance. So what Donald Trump has done is shifted that burden onto those who are struggling, making it harder for them, adding additional cost to the middle class. And I think that that is that that lacks um frankly it's just dumb economic policy. I think it's going to set us back.

Host: Here we are. Politics is on the table. Incredible track record you have. But let's dive into the Democratic party. Uh I'm an independent but grew up Irish Catholic in Brooklyn. So grew up a Democrat. probably have voted, you know, 6040 Democrat to Republican, but always for a moderate, somebody who can get stuff done. That's why I find you quite appealing. But let's talk about the Democratic party and the shellacking they got in the last election. And specifically, what really troubled me, Biden didn't look like he was all there, and uh I think we've all come to some consensus that he probably should have dropped out earlier. But what was really disheartening to me was that they didn't do the speedrun primary. they didn't do, you know, a capsule primary over that July August period and gave you a shot and other people a shot, Pritsker, Buddhajudge, whoever to to compete for the nomination. Was that a huge mistake for the Democratic party? And and when you look back on it, do you think that might have cost you all the election?

Josh Shapiro: Well, look, I mean, I I actually wrote about this in in the book I I recently published where, you know, it it became clear to me that um you know, Joe Biden seeking another term was probably not in the best interest of the party or or the country. And I spoke to him directly about that and and bluntly about that. Once he made the decision to drop out withund and whatever days to go, um you know, there there were not many opportunities, I think, to have the kind of primary process that you're talking about. I think it is important to look forward, right, and not look backwards. And you said in the last election, Democrats took a shellacking. Actually, you look at 2025, it was the opposite. I mean, the president's party, the Republican party got beat New Jersey, got beat in Virginia, got beat here in Pennsylvania, where we won three state supreme court seats. So, obviously, there's a pendulum in in American politics, and it's clearly uh swinging back. I think what's important is is that we look forward and you I think it's also really important for our party to have for my party to have a real debate and to have a real discussion about ideas. What are we for and what are we willing to fight for? And I realize that process may at times look a little messy. I realize and I mean this with the utmost respect. It gives folks like you on a podcast or on a show the ability to sort of pick apart, maybe try and, you know, sort of parse words or point one Democrat at another and try and create conflict. But I would just say that overall having this debate and having these issues be raised and having disagreements, that's healthy for our party and ultimately I think our party's poised to take back power and that will make us better at governing. To me, the whole purpose of running in an election is getting a chance to govern, not just winning the election. And so, having these debates right now puts us in a better position when we win those elections. And I'm running for re-election right now in Pennsylvania. Going to work my ass off to win another term and earn the support of the people of Pennsylvania again. And I want to continue to deliver, continue to um, you know, focus on these issues that matter most. And having that debate, I think, is really healthy.

Host: Understand looking forward is most important. But I got I got to go one more time in the review mirror here, which is Kla Harris was picked because Biden had put out a criteria. Hey, I want to have a woman of color as my vice president. He was very explicit about that. She could be qualified, unqualified, you know, moderately qualified. But then when she went out to pick her VP, everybody was saying, "Hey, Josh Shapiro should be really in that running." And she didn't pick you specifically because she didn't think she could win with the Jewish vice president.

Josh Shapiro: Yeah. So I don't respectfully I I got to push back on that and again I I've been very very open about... I was very very detailed and and and very specific in my book about this process. And I was very grateful to the vice president for being considered and grateful to her for the candid dialogue we had. And about 48 hours before she picked Tim Walls, I pulled out, made clear that that was not something I was interested in doing. I thought I could serve the good people of Pennsylvania um and and do my best serving here as governor in a job that I absolutely love. So, this wasn't about her not picking me because of my faith. Uh this was about me um in the end not being interested in in that job.

Host: Really?

Josh Shapiro: Sincerely, yes. Uh because it did seem like you wanted to to be considered for that VP position. I called Sunday evening after she and I met and had a really candid conversation uh to inform her that I did not want to be considered. I thought she had some really good people to choose from.

Host: All right, so let's move forward then looking at winning. You're going to run for governor again. Assume that's going to be a shoe in. You know, you got to do the work, but it's pretty clear you're confidence there, my man. No, it's it's clear. But let's talk a little bit about if you were to run for president, which people seem to think you've got a really good shot, but you're below maybe national uh recognition right now. We're a little bit far behind. Gavin has come out. Hey, I'm running. I'm running. Here I am. He's obviously uh in the poll position for now. I want to understand the Democratic party and how they should proceed because just like the right seemed to separate and you had this MAGA coalition uh and you had you know the traditional Republicans who were just a gasast at Trump and his style and his behavior etc. Now that seems to have fractured again. You have America first, America only. All the supporters who were supporting Trump now have come out vocally against him because of the war in Iran. And then you have on your side this socialist democrat movement which I think a lot of moderates are like well that's confusing. We don't want to have more mandamis and that doesn't seem super appealing to a lot of moderates and the moderates are the ones who flipped this election and they went the last election they went with Trump largely as opposed to going with Kamala. handicap for me. What has to happen in the Democratic party to win in 2028?

Josh Shapiro: I understand why you're asking that. I I will answer your question. I don't think anyone should be looking past these midterms. And while I appreciate the confidence you you have in me and and maybe in the the broader dynamics here, I think we need to have a national referendum in these midterms on what people see happening in Washington DC. the the chaos and the corruption that exists there. I think people need to show up in record numbers and vote their concerns. And so I'm not looking past the midterms. I do think it is important that we acknowledge Donald Trump has injected chaos and corruption into everything he touched. And I think it's important for me, for other democratic leaders in this country to be able to show what calm, competent governance can actually deliver for people. That's what I'm going to be talking about in these midterms as I seek reelection. I think it is important to paint an alternative picture to the chaos Donald Trump has created. One where you can actually grow the economy. You can make our communities safer. We didn't talk about this yet, but we've hired 2,000 more police officers. invested in community violence prevention and violent crime is down 12%. Fatal gun violence is down 42% in our commonwealth. Um we've invested in public education and by the way scores are up. Truency is down. Um we're moving up on the list. We're about 10th um according to consumer affairs in the quality of public education. I think we've got to show that there is an alternative to Donald Trump's chaos, to his cruelty, to his corruption. And you're seeing that um I think certainly in my state and I think you're seeing it in other states as well. And we need to paint that alternative picture.

Host: So TW 26 is certainly going to be a referendum on the first two years of this presidency which was extremely popular for the first n months or so. People felt really good about the economy. some people and that well I think the his polling was great but there was this tinge I think is pretty accurate to say the tariffs felt like those were chaotic. Yeah. Then you get the ice situation that feels very chaotic. Then you go to this war with Iran and that feels like a peak chaotic moment that we're in here in week six of this. So, it's certainly going to be a referendum on Trump and it feels like all the Democrats have to do is sit back and say like, look, is this what you want? Gas prices up, inflation, but you're saying they have to paint another picture. Paint that picture for me. What is that picture?

Josh Shapiro: I think on both sides of what you just said, Donald Trump chose to push the tariff button. Right. Yeah. And as a result here in Pennsylvania, what we're seeing is coffee prices are up 30%, beef is up 19%. OJ orange juice is up 9%. The fertilizers my farmers rely on here in Pennsylvania up 36%. So we're seeing whether you're a farmer, whether you're, you know, a dad just trying to cook dinner for his kids, whatever the case may be, everything costs more because of the the recklessness and the chaotic approach Donald Trump's taking our economy with these tariffs. Obviously, this war has spiked gas prices up today about 415, 416 here in Pennsylvania, similar across the country, probably years before those gas prices come down, even if the war, you know, hopefully. ends, you know, very very soon. And so I think it is important, yes, to point that out. The way Donald Trump's policies have hurt the American people, have hurt our farmers, have hurt our small businesses. The point I was making a moment ago is I think that's part of the conversation. The other part of the conversation is, okay, well, what are you doing to make people's lives better?

Host: Yeah. What? So what what should the top three things be? Like if you were running the Democratic party and you and everybody got in a room and said, "You know what? We really are going to take winning seriously, not get into this like purity test for everybody in the party and you know, everybody's got to be perfect and Joe Rogan's not good enough to go on air with because he's a lifelong Democrat, but he said something about co we don't agree with. Therefore, he's out of the party." Elon Musk is a little bit weird on the Well, but but the Democrats did. And then, oh, Elon Musk waited hours to and had Obama at SpaceX and then all of a sudden he can't come to the White House for the EV summit, the category he created. Like, it's pretty obvious the Democratic party had some real dysfunction in there in terms of building a bigger tent. And I can tell you, I have never felt more corded in my life than the Republican party trying to get me to be part of the the Trump movement, which I demured and declined. It wasn't my style, right? Uh but they are trying to build the biggest 10 possible. They're like, "Oh, you agree with 14% of what we do. You're in like Okay. Yeah. So, walk me through. So, let's dissect the top things." Yeah.

Josh Shapiro: Let's dissect. First off, you attribute a number of things to Democrats that I didn't say. So, um we're you're here interviewing me, so let's focus on the things I say. Number two, um they went and they courted you uh and you demurred. By the way, um even had you not demurred, had you signed up, I don't know that your life would be better off after a year and a half of Trump's policies. What I am for here in Pennsylvania, the ultimate swing state, the toughest state to win in, an incredibly tough state to govern in, particularly with a divided legislature. I'm for investing in public education, giving every child of God an opportunity. I'm for safe communities, and we're building that here, and we're reducing crime in all of our communities. I'm for a progrowth economy where we generate more energy, we generate more jobs, where we create more opportunities, particularly in our rural communities and forgotten communities that have been too often left behind. And here's the fourth thing I'm for. I am for freedom. And I'll tell you what, this president represents a party that used to be known as the party of freedom. And now they have turned their backs on that. They want to tell my kids what books they're allowed to read. They want to tell women what medicines they can take and what they can do with their bodies. They want to control the way I raise my child. They want to say uh, you know, every day that yeah, you can vote, but we're going to set the rules and try and rig them in a way where you're not going to be successful. They are not the party of freedom. And I think the Democratic Party has an opportunity to be the party of education, safety, economic opportunity, and freedom. That's what we're doing here in Pennsylvania. And that's what I'm gonna continue to put forth.

Host: I think it's a great platform. I would add to it, housing. The thing I hear about from young people all the time is, you know, just I'll never be able to afford a house. The American dreams a bit of a scam and college is overpriced. So, how do you think about housing and and what do is that an issue in your state or

Josh Shapiro: Let's talk about housing. Let's also talk about college because you raised both of them in your question. I mean, that has disinfected, by the way, just like two generations who are like, "You guys tricked us on housing. You told us to be able to get home and you won't sell your home boomers." Uh, and and you told us we could always make more than our college education cost. And that was a lie, too. Yeah. When I was talking about economic opportunity, it's somewhat shorthand, if you will, for also being able to afford that community. Uh, affording that community can be healthcare. It can be housing, right? But let's talk about housing. Here in Pennsylvania, I've asked the legislature for a $1 billion fund to be able to build more housing in Pennsylvania and repair existing housing. 50% of my housing was built prior to 1950. You can invest a few thousand bucks in a new boiler, a new roof, some new windows, actually keep people in their homes and not have to build new homes. We also have to eliminate or damn near eliminate the red tape that exists when it comes to building housing. We got to be able to build this faster. And so I put forth a regulatory reform plan to be able to build more housing. I think that is um really really crucial. Let's talk about college for a minute. The first day I was governor, the first executive order I signed was to do away with the college degree requirement to work for state government. We have 80,000 employees. Damn near all. Now you do not have to have a college degree other than say the doctors and lawyers and people like that who require advanced degrees. So now 60% 60% of all of our hires in state government don't have a college degree. We followed up on that by tripling our funding for votech and CTE in our high schools. Our you know dramatically increasing our funding for apprenticeship programs. 62% of my adult population here in Pennsylvania do not have a college degree. So, we need to make sure we're investing in them so that they have opportunities. You want to go learn to be a welder, you're going to make six figures working in a shipyard in South Philadelphia. You want to go and you want to work on HVAC system, you're going to work in some of our most complex life sciences um construction jobs and you're going to make six figures doing that. So for us, we fundamentally believe that you've got many pathways to opportunity here in Pennsylvania. For some, it's going to college, great. And for others, if you choose not to go to college, that's also great. We're going to make sure that we pave the way for you and give you that opportunity.

Host: What's your take on what's going on in Congress, Senate, in terms of Trump and getting alignment there? because hey when you go to war or you do tariffs um this was something we had a consultation between these different branches of our government and we had other presidents on the Democrat side etc you know say hey we're going to just get rid of student loan I'm doing an executive order curious your take on the balance of our of our different branches of government...

Josh Shapiro: Our founders when they vested that kind of authority in an executive didn't necessarily do something wrong by giving the executive that power, but they were leaning on the assumption that the executive would be honorable, that the executive would would would do this with morality and real scruples in mind. And and I think what we're seeing with the president is if you sidle up to him at his swim club, you donate a certain amount of money maybe or you have his ear for some other social reason, you can usually get him to give a pardon to someone who's important to you. Yeah, the the pardons definitely are super troubling. How do you deal with the family members and the kids enriching themselves? ... Yeah, it's a year since your home was firebombed by an insane person who was anti-Semitic. ... As a Jewish person and literally experiencing it firsthand, I mean, how are you doing with that?

Josh Shapiro: Yeah, I appreciate it. Look, we we should separate this and have two conversations. One about Israel and one about anti-semitism because you kind of blurred both in that question. Let's focus first on anti-semitism. I have been very outspoken about those who are engaging in anti-semitism... On the issue of Israel and the Middle East and the war in Iran and Gaza, there's a lot of nuance there. ... I've been clear and consistent about this long before October 7th, that I think Netanyahu, the leader of Israel, um is someone who's been leading Israel down a dangerous and isolated path. ... As it relates to the war... this was a war of choice. The president never defined the objectives. it is clear he doesn't know how the hell to get out of this. ... America's national security interests have not been well served by this. And economically, you've talked about this. Economically, we are worse off uh because of this war.