Click here to watch the full interview.

PENNSYLVANIA – Today, Governor Josh Shapiro made clear that he will keep fighting to protect Pennsylvanians’ fundamental rights, defend the rule of law, and lower costs for working families across the Commonwealth. In an interview with ABC’s Martha Raddatz, Governor Shapiro sharply criticized Donald Trump’s reckless global tariffs, warning they are driving up prices and hurting Pennsylvania farmers and small businesses, and highlighted how Democrats are holding the Trump Administration accountable amid ongoing chaos in Washington. 

See below for key excerpts from the conversation, and watch the full interview here:

Question: [Donald Trump] talked about the Section 122, and announced that he’s putting 10% tariffs globally. What does it mean? Do you think he can do it?

Josh Shapiro: I think there’s real legal questions. And look, we’ve seen now that the President was acting outside his legal authority. By the way, not a new thing for him. As someone who’s had to take him to court 19 times as Governor. The thing about the tariffs is he’s doing it in a way that is hurting the American people, hurting our farmers, hurting consumers, hurting our small businesses. We know that, by the way, the President knows that. That’s why he offered a bail out to our farmers. He acknowledged the fact that his policies are hurting Pennsylvanians, hurting Americans. I wish he would just adhere to the Supreme Court’s ruling and stop the pain for the American people.

Question: You said that November’s election needs to be a referendum on President Trump, and that Democrats need to focus on reigning in the excesses, the chaos, the cruelty, the lawlessness of this Administration. So what exactly is the pitch on how Democrats should do that?

Josh Shapiro: I’ve called for a national referendum on these chaotic, cruel and corrupt policies of the Trump Administration. Show up, vote in record numbers, and if you do, it is likely we’ll not only reelect a bunch of Democratic governors who are holding the line here and protecting the rule of law, but we’re very likely, and by the way, maybe even just in Pennsylvania with our competitive congressional seats, to flip the balance of power in Congress. That accomplishes two things. Number one, it stops the cruel policies from passing through the Congress of the United States. And number two, Congress finally will ultimately act as a check on this Administration, as is their constitutional obligation.

Question: People in the past have focused on Donald Trump and what he’s doing. What are the Democrats going to do that’s different? What is that message?

Josh Shapiro: I think it’s how I’m governing Pennsylvania, how other Democratic governors are governing. Let me focus on my Commonwealth. We’ve invested in our schools, in safety and economic opportunity, and we’ve done so in a way that protects people’s fundamental rights and freedoms. We haven’t engaged in cruelty designed to attack a specific person based on what they look like or where they come from, who they love, who they pray to. That’s the kind of governing that we’re showing in by the way, the swingiest of all swing states in the country, a state that has a divided legislature, one U.S. Senator that’s a Democrat, one that’s a Republican, a divided congressional delegation.

Question: If there’s a surge of ICE agents into Pennsylvania, what do you do?

Josh Shapiro: We are prepared. I will tell you, governors prepare for all kinds of emergencies – for a weather emergency or, God forbid, a terrorist incident or a shooting, awful things like that. We are now preparing, should the federal government, against our will, deploy federal officials into our communities. It was interesting. Today in the governor’s meeting, one of the governors asked the President, what did you learn from Minnesota and what happened there? And the President said, the way he says things, “I learned we’re only going to go to places where we’re wanted, where people say please and thank you.” We do not want that kind of chaos in our communities in Pennsylvania, so don’t come, but if you come, we are prepared to address it.

Question: A theme of your book is that there’s more uniting us in this country than dividing us. What’s uniting us?

Josh Shapiro: I know it doesn’t feel that way, and I actually set out to write this book to speak to the goodness that Lori, my wife Lori and I see every day as we travel across Pennsylvania. The people who, maybe despite some political differences, are united in our communities. And in the middle of that, in the middle of writing this book about all the light that emanates from the people that I meet, darkness landed on our doorstep with that attack at the residence. But from that, we saw extraordinary light of people coming together of different faiths and praying for us. When you actually get out, particularly in my state, you find people from all different walks of life, all different faiths, who have that shared humanity, that light, that goodness. That’s what I want people to take away from this book.

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