Shapiro fires back at Trump after post slamming convention speech

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) clapped back at former President Trump’s criticism of his Democratic National Convention speech, stating the former president is “obsessed” with him and “continuing to spew hate and division.”

“I think it’s clear over the last few years, Donald Trump is obsessed with me and obsessed with continuing to spew hate and division in our politics. He’s someone who’s routinely peddled antisemitic tropes like this,” Shapiro told reporters Thursday morning.

The Pennsylvania Democrat later said his speech was the “exact polar opposite” of what Trump is discussing.

“I’m talking about real freedom, bringing people together, accepting folks no matter what they look like, where they come from, who they love, who they pray to and say this is a place for you,” he said. “That’s diametrically opposed to everything Donald Trump believes and it’s clear that he’s going to continue to be the hateful, divisive person that he’s always been in this campaign.”

The comments came hours after Trump jabbed Shapiro as a “highly overrated Jewish” governor and called his convention speech “really bad.”

“The highly overrated Jewish Governor of the Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, made a really bad and poorly delivered speech talking about freedom and fighting for Comrade Kamala Harris for President,” Trump wrote overnight on Truth Social.

“Yet she hates Israel and will do nothing but make its journey through the complexities of survival as difficult as possible, hoping in the end that it will fail,” he added.

Shapiro, the former president said, “refused to acknowledge that I am the best friend that Israel, and the Jewish people, ever had.”

“Look, remember he’s the guy who wanted Doug Mastriano to have this job,” Shapiro said Thursday, referring to his Trump-backed Republican opponent in the 2022 gubernatorial race. “He’s the guy who has been repeatedly rejected by the voters in Pennsylvania. He himself in 2020, all of his handpicked candidates have lost and I think he’s headed for another loss to Kamala Harris.”

The focus on Shapiro’s Jewish faith comes after various Republicans alleged Harris did not tap the Pennsylvania governor as her vice presidential pick because of his heritage.

Shapiro, a rising Democratic star, was thought to be one of the top options for Harris’s running mate as he governs one of the country’s key swing states. She eventually went with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D).

Earlier this week, Shapiro criticized Trump for having no credibility to discuss antisemitism in response to Republicans’ claims.

“Well, look, the person leading that effort to inject that into the dialogue is Donald Trump, someone who has absolutely no credibility to speak about antisemitism or hatred or bigotry in any form because he is someone who pushes that into the dialogue. He is someone who divides Americans,” Shapiro told MSNBC’s Joy Reid.

The White House slammed Trump’s most recent remarks.

“It is Antisemitic, dangerous, and hurtful to attack a fellow American by calling out their Jewish faith in a derogatory way, or perpetuating the centuries-old smear of ‘dual loyalty,’” White House spokesperson Herbie Ziskend said in a statement responding to Trump’s attack. “President Biden and Vice President Harris believe we must come together as Americans to condemn and combat Antisemitism — and hate and bigotry of all kinds.”

Brett Samuels and Lauren Sforza contributed.