Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) recalled during an interview on Friday how he tried to inform then-President Joe Biden about significant issues with his appeal to voters during the 2024 presidential campaign.
Details of Shapiro’s conversation with Biden come as the Democratic Party is still reeling from its loss in 2024 following Biden’s abrupt exit from his reelection campaign and then-Vice President Kamala Harris stepping in with only 107 days left before the vote.
Shapiro, a comparatively moderate Democrat who has two Republicans in his Cabinet, recalled during an interview with “The Breakfast Club” how he warned Biden about “his challenges in Pennsylvania,” a critical Electoral College state that ultimately went to President Donald Trump.
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Shapiro said that he spoke with Biden at a coffee shop in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s capital, and was “really honest with him.”
“’Polls are showing it’s not going well,” Shapiro recalled telling Biden. “I don’t think you’re handling the cost question. Back to what we talked about before with rising costs. It was a big theme in the campaign. Big issue in Pennsylvania. I didn’t think they were handling that well. I expressed that I thought people thought he wasn’t up to the job.”
Shapiro said he does not believe in “throwing people under the bus,” but he also said that Biden’s team was not straightforward with their boss about the critical failings of the 2024 campaign.
“Look, maybe it’s old school, but I believe that if you got something to say, you say it directly to that person’s face, and he’s the president of the United States. I respected him, still respect him, and I respect him enough to say it directly to his face,” he said.
Shapiro made it to the late stages of Harris’s selection for her running mate, but she ultimately chose Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN). Polls at the time indicated that Harris may have won Pennsylvania had she chosen Shapiro.
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Earlier this month, a Quinnipiac University poll found that Shapiro holds a 60% approval rating in Pennsylvania and is highly likely to win out over two Republican challengers for the governorship in the 2026 election.
The Quinnipiac poll also found that Shapiro had a 53% chance of winning the 2028 presidential election against Vice President JD Vance should he be selected as the GOP candidate.
