Transcript

Dem Gov FLIPS THE SCRIPT on Trump after VP is BOOED | PoliticsGirl

From MeidasTouch · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 47 min · 9,371 words · 84 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Dem Gov FLIPS THE SCRIPT on Trump after VP is BOOED | PoliticsGirl", an episode of MeidasTouch published February 11, 2026 (47 min, about 9,371 words). It mentions 12 people, works and ideas, including Josh Shapiro, Lee McGowan, ICE, Where We Keep the Light: Stories from a Life of Service, Democratic Party.

What this episode is about

The main topic centers on the significance of voter participation as a means to challenge the current political climate characterized by chaos, cruelty, and corruption. The discussion highlights the recent negative sentiment towards American leadership, particularly following an incident at the Olympics, and emphasizes the importance of strong state leadership, featuring Pennsylvania's Governor Josh Shapiro as a positive example of ethical governance amidst federal dysfunction.

Key takeaways

  • Voting isn't just a right; it's America's most potent weapon against chaos and corruption.
  • State leadership offers a refreshing contrast to federal ineptitude—governors are solving problems, not creating them.
  • While chaos reigns in D.C., engaged citizens can disrupt the status quo with their electoral power.
  • The Olympic crowd's response highlighted a global disdain for U.S. leadership—perception can shape reality.
  • Parents everywhere deserve better for their children; political accountability starts with demanding leadership that delivers.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: Josh Shapiro, Lee McGowan, ICE
  2. – 10:00: Where We Keep the Light: Stories from a Life of Service, Philadelphia
  3. – 15:00: Wild Grain, Bad Bunny, William Penn
  4. – 20:00: Delete Me, ICE, Philadelphia
  5. – 25:00: Laundry Sauce
  6. – 30:00: Cheers Restore, Laundry Sauce, Democratic Party
  7. – 45:00: Josh Shapiro
  8. – 46:34: Bad Bunny

Notable quotes from "Dem Gov FLIPS THE SCRIPT on Trump after VP is BOOED | PoliticsGirl"

  • Hello and welcome to the Politics Girl podcast. I'm your host Lee McGowen. Let's get into it. So, it is hard to be a moral, ethical, law-abiding American right now and not feel.
    about Lee McGowan · at
  • A man who understands the moment we're in and is unafraid to meet it. So without further ado, please welcome my guest, Democratic Governor of the State of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro. Welcome, Governor.
    about Josh Shapiro · at
  • Reversed. And we, I was looking at your book, which I find so fascinating. You wrote a book this year called Where We Keep the Light Stories from a Life of Service. And you…
    about Where We Keep the Light: Stories from a Life of Service · at
  • And I think it is against the arc of America. If you think about the last 250 years, I'm right now in the city of Philadelphia where it all started.
    about Philadelphia · at
  • And by the way, you don't have to speak Spanish or understand every word of his song to understand the beauty of it, to understand how inclusive it was and how it was centered around this notion of.
    about Bad Bunny · at
  • This episode of the Politics Girl podcast is brought to you by Wild Grain.
    about Wild Grain · at
  • Protect people. And my fundamental responsibility is to keep people safe here in Pennsylvania. The idea that we have a federal government who's hellbent on wreaking havoc in…
    about ICE · at
  • Yeah, same with me. that's one of the things I really like about what you're doing in Pennsylvania because I think a lot of us have given up on the Republican party helping…
    about Democratic Party · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Josh Shapiro — Person · Main guest · 3 mentions · first at
    Interview subject discussing state-level leadership, election integrity, political violence, and contrasting governance with the Trump administration.
  • Lee McGowan — Person · Host · 2 mentions · first at
    Host of the Politics Girl podcast who frames the episode around democratic participation, federal overreach, and the need for strong state leadership; conducts the interview.
  • Bad Bunny — Person · Referenced public figure / cultural example · 3 mentions · first at
    Cited as an example in a discussion about inclusion, xenophobia, and political scapegoating; referenced in relation to a Super Bowl halftime performance and attacks from the administration.
  • William Penn — Person · Historical reference · 1 mention · first at
    Invoked to ground the episode's argument about pluralism and democratic ideals in Pennsylvania’s founding, contrasting with modern exclusionary politics.
    Behind me, in 1682, William Penn arrived here at these shores of what is now Pennsylvania. Why do I bring him up?

Books & papers

Companies & orgs

  • ICE — Company · Case study · 2 mentions · first at
    Discussed in the context of federal government actions and their impact on communities, particularly in relation to immigration enforcement.
  • Democratic Party — Company · Business focus · 1 mention · first at
    Discussed in the context of political leadership and governance, particularly in contrast to the current administration.

Places & events

  • Philadelphia — Place · Setting · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as the location where Governor Shapiro is during the interview and as a historical city in American democracy.

Sponsors

  • Cheers Restore — Product · Sponsor · 4 mentions · first at
    Promoted as an after-alcohol aid to mitigate hangover effects.
    And I was still up at 6:30 and got a full day of work done. No problems at all. That is a huge difference. For a limited time, our listeners are getting 20% off their entire order by using the code politicsgirl at cheersshealth.com.
  • Wild Grain — Product · Sponsor · 3 mentions · first at
    Advertised as a subscription box for artisanal baked goods and pastas.
  • Delete Me — Product · Sponsor · 3 mentions · first at
    Promoted as a service for removing personal data online to protect privacy.
    This episode of the Politics Girl podcast is brought to you by Wild Grain.
  • Laundry Sauce — Product · Sponsor · 3 mentions · first at
    Advertised as a premium laundry detergent with sophisticated fragrances.
    For a limited time, our listeners get 20% off their entire order when they use the code politicsgirl 20 at laundrysauce.com. That's 20% off at laundrysauce.com with the promo code.

Full transcript with timestamps

The greatest power we all have as Americans is the power to vote. And I do think people need to turn out. And I I think it needs to be a national referendum. Don't don't just turn out if you're in a swing district or a swing state like mine. Turn out and send a clear message that you do not like what's going on. Make this a referendum on the chaos, the cruelty, and the corruption in Washington DC. And I think if people do that, they're going to realize they've got great power and they can change the trajectory of this great country.

Hello and welcome to the Politics Girl podcast. I'm your host Lee McGowen. Let's get into it. So, it is hard to be a moral, ethical, law-abiding American right now and not feel traumatized. I think a lot of us felt the booze directed at our vice president at the opening of the Olympics this weekend. NBC might have edited out the crowd's response to American leadership, but the internet is forever. And the world clearly saw what most of us do, that we are being ruled by leaders without a care for their own people or the people of the world. A collection of bullies, sickopants, and sadists brutalizing their own people at home while changing the world order internationally. And while that Olympic crowd was kind to our athletes, the sentiment did not extend to our government representatives. Which is why today I'm speaking with an American representative who does have the respect of the people he governs. A leader who

is not only looking out for the people of his state, but the state of his country. As the federal government becomes more lawless, I believe it is increasingly important to stand behind strong state leadership. So today, the leader I'm going to speak to is Pennsylvania's Governor Josh Shapiro. This is the guy who after someone tried to burn his house down with him and his family in it, he came out and said violence has no place in our society regardless of what motivates it. This is a man who understands the moment we're in and is unafraid to meet it. So without further ado, please welcome my guest, Democratic Governor of the State of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro. Welcome, Governor.

Lee, it's awesome to be with you. Thanks for having me. Oh, thanks for coming. We've been trying to get this on the books for so long and I'm so pleased you could join us because as I was saying in the introduction as the Americans watch our federal government just not only fail to look out for us in everything from healthcare to education but actively work against the American people with the violence we're seeing in our streets from ICE and the abandonment of our allies overseas.

Yeah. Like it's really important that we look to our state leaders right now. You know, I think you guys must be feeling a particular responsibility to show an alternative type of leadership because I know we are looking to you guys not just to represent the people of your state, but to be a visible contrast to what we're seeing federally.

Yeah. Yeah, I think we're seeing so much chaos in DC, so much chaos coming from the Trump administration tied together with cruelty and corruption that then when you have the opportunity to see how governors are actually doing their jobs every day, helping people, making their lives a little bit better, solving problems and doing so with a level of calm, I think there is a clear contrast. I I have to tell you, I'm grateful for this conversation. I told my wife at breakfast this morning, we got the kids off to school and we were getting ready to run about our days and she's like, "What are you up to?" And I was telling her about my means and I mentioned I was coming home with you. She goes, "I love her and I listen to her." And there's a there's a broader point here about listening that that I want to I want to say because it goes back to your, you know, the heart of your question. This is a moment with like all the chaos and

all the cruelty and all the corruption. A lot of people just want to turn it off or they want to pull the covers up and they want to like ignore all this. And there are people like you every day going out and forcing folks to say hold on you can turn it off but ain't going to make these problems go away. You got to listen and we've got to engage and we've got to do something about it. And that's what you're doing and that's why I'm excited for this conversation and my wife's excited for it too.

Well, hi to your wife first of all. high school sweetheart. As far as I understand, you guys have four kids and my son is dating uh his high school sweetheart right now. And I keep thinking, oh, the Shapiro's got married. Like, this could be it. You know,

warn your son. It's going to happen. It's going to happen. How old's your son? He is turning 18 this month. He is turning 18 this month. So, you know, all of this that I do is for him. You know, like ultimately I started this project because I brought a child into this world and he deserves far better than this. Your children deserve far better. All of our kids do. They deserve better in leadership. They deserve better in repercussions. And they deserve better from a country that promised them freedom and justice and liberty.

Yeah. Amen. They they deserve better both in terms of what they see every day, right? I mean, we shouldn't as parents be embarrassed by the leader of our country when it comes to parenting our kids. And second, I mean, you and I are just getting to know each other here, but it I bet we share the same value, which is we want to leave this place better for our kids than the way we found it. I mean, that is sort of like fundamentally, I think, what every parent wants. And that feels very at risk right now. And so, we each have to do our part and make sure your 18-year-old son, my we've we're blessed with four children, that that our kids grow up in a place where they've got promise and possibility greater than what you and I inherited.

Yeah. Exactly. And I think you and I I mean I I look at this world as a woman. Obviously I was born in 75. So you know Ro was around my whole life, right? So I was told I could be anything I wanted to be, that I could lean in, that I can have a career and be a mother and do all of this. And you know, realistically, as you grow up, you realize that's not always possible at the same time. Yes, I could have everything, but if I wanted to be this kind of mother, I had to take these steps. Those kind of things that everyone in the society realizes. I know you've talked a lot about being the kind of parent that's like, I'm working governor, but also I want to be there for my kids and how do I balance that?

It's not something that men often do. But I feel like we're all out here now watching everything get reversed. Women's rights get reversed, workers rights get reversed, civil rights get reversed. And we, you know, I was looking at your book, which I find so fascinating. You wrote a book this year called Where We Keep the Light Stories from a Life of Service. And you made this argument that the brilliance of our founders is that they left our founding documents incomplete. That future generations are supposed to evolve with the times. I made the same argument in my book two years ago. Like

we often forget that our country was supposed to continue to evolve, but it has really been backsliding since the 70s when we stop making changes to the constitution. I should remind people that the last time we made a real change to the constitution that actually meant something was in 1971 when we changed the voting age from 21 to 18. Now we haven't done anything since then. We haven't even passed the equal rights amendment. Like women still don't have equal rights in this country. And now we have this group of people who are trying to reverse engineer generations of progress, right? Who were never happy with workers rights or civil rights. And their long-term goal is actually being realized right now. And we have to be able to not only realize that that's happening, but figure out what our long-term goal is to get back to a place that we really can respect ourselves.

Yeah. No, you you just summed it up exactly right. And and I did write about that in where we keep the light. And I I think about I forget just as a governor, I I think about it as a dad in a very practical way, right? Our daughter Sophia is 24 years old. And this notion that she was born into this world with more rights than she has today over her own body, that doesn't sit well with me. And and I think it is against the arc of America. If you think about the last 250 years, I'm right now in the city of Philadelphia where it all started.

I argued, by the way, with Mora Healey, who I love, the governor of Massachusetts. We're good friends. She claims it all started there and we just did the paperwork. I think it started here, but you can have us both on on your podcast sometime.

You guys have the bell. You have the bell. Yeah. But the story of America has been that in every generation, yeah, we got beat up a little bit. We got knocked back a little bit, but we always made progress. And we have to ask ourselves, are we in the midst of a chapter right now with dos and with the evisceration of more of our rights? in which case we're going to be able to make forward progress and end this chapter better than when when we started. Or is this a turning point? Is this an inflection point? I think the answer to that has to revolve around people like you using your platform as real power. People like me, making sure I'm standing up for people's rights and freedoms, and most importantly, ordinary folks rising up, demanding more and seeking justice and trying to leave this place better than the way we found it. This is a this is a scary moment, but it's also a moment where people need to feel their power

and exercise it. Yeah. I mean, you know, if we stopped evolving, it's because I think as a people, we kind of stopped doing the hard work of making real change, right? And and a lot of that was just like we thought, oh, well, we've got a democracy, and I often compare America and American democracy to a couple in a long-term marriage, right? Like, you know, there'll always be there like American democracy always. We're the top of the world. You can't take it for granted because America clearly got a wandering eye for authoritarianism and that's where we are now. And so we really have to put work back into the relationship and back into the business of democracy and protecting our vote and protecting our rights and protecting our people. And I think you saw a lot of that reflected yesterday even we're recording on a Monday but yesterday at the Super Bowl reflected in you know how many people were represented in that

halftime show. Beautiful. It was absolutely beautiful. and this idea that hate is bigger than love. And then there's just this group of people, a honestly a small group of people who feel the need to separate themselves from the rest of us and say, "This is just for these people who speak English and are white and speak like this." And you think, well, actually, that's not the majority of us and it's not the majority of what people want. And you can keep telling yourself that, but it's it's a lie. And the more of us that actually work for the truth, the better off we're going to be

without question. And look, I think the attacks on Bad Bunny, the that, by the way, came even before the Super Bowl. Like, they wanted to have this fight even before we saw his brilliant performance. And by the way, shout out to all those stage managers that put that together. That was unbelievable. Bad Bunny, but those people were unbelievable last night. But, you know, this is what we've seen from this administration in Washington. this creation of others, scapegoating people, attacking children, you know, putting people down because of what they look like, where they come from, who they love, who they pray to or choose not to pray to. And that makes us all less safe. And and I would argue that is not what the founders intended. I'm going to nerd out on you for a quick second if I may. But just a few miles from here, literally along the Delaware River behind me, in 1682, William Penn arrived

here at these shores of what is now Pennsylvania. Why do I bring him up? Because he tried to build a place that would be welcoming for all. Literally, the ship he arrived on was called Welcome. And he wanted to build a place that was literally rooted in this idea of free expression, free religion, and free elections. Now, look, Penn never imagined a Jewish governor or my lieutenant governor as a black lieutenant governor, first one in Pennsylvania history, but you'd have to hope he'd be proud of that. And and you'd have to hope that he'd he'd look down on the leader of our country right now who wants to separate people out, who wants to diminish certain people because they don't look a certain way. I think we're better than that in America.

And to bring it back to last night, I think that that halftime showed that. And by the way, you don't have to speak Spanish or understand every word of his song to understand the beauty of it, to understand how inclusive it was and how it was centered around this notion of love, not hatred and division. I I thought that was just a beautiful thing and I thought it kind of encapsulated where the majority of Americans are, even if that's not where our leader is right now. I completely agree and as someone who was born in Canada and chose America as my nation, you know, I'm I'm an immigrant and I chose to be here and it really reflected that to have all of the Americas represented with the different flags, everything from Latin America to South America to Central America to North America where we are including Canada, I thought was really exceptional because we've spent a long time with American patriotism being

isolationist and being us first and greatest country in the world stuff and this felt more like unity in a way that I think we could all get behind. Well, maybe not that small little group.

No. And I I couldn't agree more. And by the way, it speaks to this president's approach on foreign policy, which is super isolationist, which is hemispheric, right? They're only focused on one little sliver of the world and kind of allowing China, Russia, other bad actors in other parts of the world to do as as they wish. I think that it really speaks to their overall approach, which is limiting. It's isolating. It makes America less safe, less prosperous, less free. And to attack our fellow Americans, whether it's some famous person like Bad Bunny or someone whose name you don't know, but he looks a certain way and and you attack him, that makes us all worse off. And I think this president doesn't understand any of that.

Yeah, I don't think he understands it, too. And I think that he doesn't understand how scary America has become for so many people, be it women, people of color, immigrants, trans people, gay people. We don't fit and we don't belong and we are afraid in our own country and I think that is such a shame and I think most people feel that shame. This episode of the Politics Girl podcast is brought to you by Wild Grain. Wild Grain is the first bake from frozen subscription box for sourdough breads, artisal pastries, and fresh pastas. All of the items bake in 25 minutes or less.

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I think you're right. And and it's not just how we feel here, it's how we are viewed in the world. You mentioned you're from Canada. I I was recently elected by a bunch of governors along the border with Canada and the premers in Canada to to lead a by country you know commission involving the great lakes and trade marvelous like that

the reason I raise it is in my remarks there I commented about the sovereignty of Canada that I don't view Canada as a 51st state and that I respect Canadians and you know by the way these are like obvious statements that you'd think two years ago no one would ever take note of. But the reaction from Canadians when I said that in Quebec recently was really really interesting and speaks to how attacked they feel by this president and and how in turn America is getting more and more isolated.

Well, yeah, it's I mean they feel attacked. The people of America feel attacked. This isn't how a leader is supposed to lead. I mean, I heard you say in Coar lately that it's a sad day in America when governors need to prepare for an onslaught of federal troops coming into their states to undermine the freedoms and constitutional rights of their own citizens. And I think that's what we're seeing with ICE in Minneapolis and all of Minnesota going into Maine now. I know Philadelphia is on the list where you are. I'm in LA, so we are definitely on the list. New York. And this is our own government threatening us with our own taxpayer funded militia,

right? We're paying for that. I know. We'll take some health care. Thanks. Right. Typically, a governor would prepare for, god forbid, a horrific weather incident that claimed lives

or, god forbid, a shooting or, you know, things like that that in many ways are emergencies out of our control, but you've got to respond to it. You got to protect people. And you know, my fundamental responsibility is to keep people safe here in Pennsylvania. The idea that we have a federal government who's hellbent on wreaking havoc in our communities, making us less safe, eroding that trust that we've built up between law enforcement and the community, that's, by the way, allowed us to reduce crime by 12% across Pennsylvania. The idea that we have to prepare for that is mindboggling. Yet, we are. This is the place where we find ourselves in. And you mentioned Minneapolis. I mean, what's happening in Minneapolis and and beyond all throughout Minnesota, you know, really is a compromised mission. The mission's got to be terminated. It it's violating people's constitutional rights. It's it's eroding people's freedoms. It's

making people less safe. Uh and it's extremely dangerous. And it's not just the killing of Mr. Prey and Miss Good, as horrific as it was. It's it's the constant violation of people's rights every day.

Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, do blue state governors, cuz we're talking about governor leadership, like, do blue state governors in general, do you guys communicate with each other to kind of come up with a group plan? I had former Republican operative Steve Schmidt on the show a couple of weeks ago, and he was saying, I wish there was a a group of blue state governors that would talk as a united front to say like, we stand as a unit against this administration. And I was like, oh yeah, I kind of would love to see that, too. because you know there's power in numbers and I think a lot of us would like to see somebody go headto-head with this administration that really felt like it was a fair fight.

We we do talk all the time. We compare notes where we can be joined in something. We do whether it's a statement, a lawsuit, an action and we recognize that when one of our brothers or sisters is kind of under attack that we're going to take a second chair but be there for them. when we're attacked, someone will be there for us and where we've got to stand together as a wall, right, to to stand up and defend people. We do that together. We get along well. And I think we all, while we may have different policy views or what have you, we have the same values that, you know, we we value our freedom. We cherish our democracy. We love this country. And we will not allow our citizens in our states to be defined by the chaos and the cruelty and the corruption that's coming out of Washington every day.

Yeah. I mean, you know, it's sort of like a modern UN, but for American blue states. Like, I kind of feel like we could have a little article five action happening, like come for one of us, come for all of us. I mean, I heard this administration saying that ICE agents obviously have complete and total immunity. Our vice president was saying that, which is absurd. You were an attorney general before you were the governor.

It's not true, right? These guys do not function above the law. It is absolutely not true. And JD Vance is full of as he typically is. And I I'll just tell you, you didn't ask this, but I'll volunteer my my thoughts on this. As a former chief law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth, former prosecutor, as I look at just like what is publicly available, I I don't have any insight or any secret information here. I think you could make out a very very clear case, at least in Mr. Preing's killing, of voluntary manslaughter. And I think you could also make out a case that the federal government has been engaged in a conspiracy to, you know, be able to block access to the crime scene, block access to justice by not participating in the investigation process. So I think you can charge people there and they certainly do not have blanket immunity.

No, I I mean I think most Americans concern is we know it's against the law. They know it's against the law. they do it anyway and they're like, "What are you going to do about it?" And I think that's most of us feel a little like that's why we look to people like you like, "Well, what are you guys going to do about it?" Because we're just out here, you know, watching it happen. We're the ones being pulled out of our cars. And I think that's why people are looking to the strong governors right now for leadership because we don't know what to do if they're just going to break the law and we know they're breaking the law and they know they're breaking the law. So, what comes next?

We're preparing, Lee, and we have some very specific steps that we're prepared to take should what we're seeing in Minneapolis try to unfold here in Pennsylvania, anywhere in Pennsylvania. I hope it doesn't happen and you know, we're taking steps to try and ensure that it doesn't happen. But we'll be prepared. Look, if the president of the United States, if the secretary of defense, the secretary of department of homeland security want to impose their will on our state, there are some things we could do to slow them down, maybe stop them, but they may be able to to do that. In which case, we'll have to respond in a secondary step as well.

Yeah, we, you know, again, the idea that we even have to think about this is crazy, but we're going to do everything we can to protect our citizens. That's my job.

Yeah, that is your job. And I think that that's great. I mean, you have done many roles in state leadership. You were state congress. You were county commissioner. You were the attorney general, obviously, and now you're the governor. And you clearly believe, as I do, that government can and should be a force for good. I often talk about,

you know, the detrimental language that Reagan used to say that the nine most terrifying words in the English language were, I am from the government and I'm here to help. Because I always feel like if you are in the government and you're not there to help your own citizens, then what are you doing there? Because the job itself is public service.

Yeah. I've never understood these people that run for office in order to use government to do bad things for people. And and Lee, I'm not suggesting we should agree on healthc care policy or tax policy or whatever. We should have those fights. Those are healthy fights. And typically you end up with some sort of compromise that's good for the majority of people. And that's the way the system works. But to have these people who enter public life with designs on making other people's lives worse. I mean, you think about this for a minute. President United States and his enablers in Congress. Literally voted for a new law. Trump signed it to kick 510,000 Pennians off of their healthcare. Again, we may have different ideas on what the best health care system is and all that. We should argue that. We should duke that out. Duke it out proverbally, not literally. and and the the idea that though they would be

proud of the fact that they've knocked a half million Pennians off of healthcare speaks to their character or lack thereof. So yeah, I'm someone who like you believes government can be a force for good in people's lives even if we differ on the policy. But this notion that you're making people's lives worse as Trump and his enablers are doing is to me an anathema to everything I believe in. Laundry sauce is changing the way we do laundry in 2026. I know you guys have heard me rave about laundry sauce before, and I understand that gushing about laundry detergent is just ridiculous. But this stuff isn't just laundry detergent. It is a full upgrade for your entire laundry routine that effortlessly lets you smell amazing. The pre-measured pods just make life easier.

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But this notion that you're making people's lives worse, as Trump and his enablers are doing, is to me an anathema to everything I believe in.

Yeah, same with me. I mean, that's one of the things I really like about what you're doing in Pennsylvania because I think a lot of us have given up on the Republican party helping regular Americans. But I think that's why sometimes people are so down on the Democratic party and they have a low approval rating because people still believe the Democrats are supposed to be looking out for them even if they believe the Republicans have stopped doing it. And they're disappointed when they don't see the fight that they want from their party, when they don't see a strong opposition to what they're seeing. And I think there's a reason that you have an over 60% approval rating in your state, but national dems are sitting at like 30%. Because you seem to be an action-based leader. I know I've heard you say that you function on the idea of G GSD, getting done.

There you go. Yeah. And I think that's we say it every day. Yeah. But but that's it because politicians have become known for being mostly interested in what government can do for them rather than what they can do for the people. And I think people are sick of politicians saying a lot but doing very little.

I think it's look my general thesis or whatever that's a annoying word but my my my general

my therapist would say your intention what is your intention? My general intention every day is to just like advance the ball for somebody just like make it a little bit better. Solve the problem for their kids child care. Give their kid a better quality education. make sure the streets a little bit safer. And I don't expect everybody to agree with my ideas on how to do that, but I want them to see the effect of me sitting behind this desk every day. If I'm sitting behind this desk and you got a job, that's a good thing. If I'm sitting behind this desk and you continue to have access to healthcare, that's a good thing. And so I view every day through that prism. How can I deliver something concrete for somebody? And I I do think, and by the way, I don't think this is true of just Democrats. I think it's Democrats, Republicans, independents. What they're desperate for are just folks who can get

stuff done for them, who can show their work and not just talk all day, but actually make meaningful progress for them. And that's that's what I endeavor to do every day, whether someone agrees with me or not. That's what I endeavor to do every day.

Yeah. I like the concept of showing your work. Like I was looking at how you've worked when you've been in office, and it's things like gun violence. You've got gun violence down by 42% since you took office. You've cut taxes, I think, seven times since, you know, seven times.

Seven times. Yeah. And then, but you keep calling to raise the minimum wage every year since you've been governor. Now, what's going on with that? Because I think it's almost impossible with a fully Republican legislature to to get those sort of things done. So, like, what do you do when you know that the minimum wage has to be higher? You keep asking for it, but you can't get it because the people you're working with refuse to do it.

Yeah. It's kind of wild. There's only two governors like this in the country. It used to be just me. I've got this divided legislature. So, I've got a Senate led by Republicans by two seats and a House led by Democrats by one seat. You want to talk about like razor thin majorities in in both chambers. And so, look, we've got a lot done. Historic funding for public education, public safety, economic development. We've got the only growing economy in in the northeastern part of the United States. We cut taxes seven times, put a lot of money back in people's pockets, and then you know that stuff we've done on a bipartisan basis. Then you bump into something like raising the minimum wage.

We are stuck at a poultry $725 an hour. I've been trying to raise It's not enough.

It's nowhere near enough. I've been trying to get it to at least $15 an hour. And so this is a situation where I've got the Democratic House. They passed it, I think, twice at this point. And I've got a Republican Senate that won't do it. So, what I do is put as much public pressure as I can on there and make clear when we're in the back rooms negotiating how important this is to me and see if I might find a way to give them something in order for us to to get something done like this that is really really important for people. You you want to help people out, put money in their pockets. I made this argument that if you raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, 61,000 Pennians who make below 15 bucks an hour, if you just pay them $15 or more, you'll save $300 million in our Medicaid budget. So, I I tried to appeal to the Republicans, say, even if you don't want to do this out of the goodness of your own heart because it's

the right thing to do. Maybe you want to curtail some entitlement spending. This is a way for you to do it. I try and make arguments that appeal to where their heads are and see if we can get it done. I'm going to keep trying.

But this is also where the people come in, right? So, when you think about what you're doing in an election, it's not just electing your governor. It's taking a look at those two seats, you know, that could switch over to Democrats and you could get a higher minimum wage. It comes down to what we choose in every level of government, not just the highest level of government. You know, I think the bottom line is we need representatives at every level who understand people are struggling and will actually make change should they be given the power.

Absolutely. And I I could make an argument. I mean, this is no disrespect to any member of Congress. I could make an argument that people's daily lives are impacted more every day by their state legislatures and their governors. Again, no disrespect to anyone who's who's working hard and doing the right thing in DC. And so to to me, electing those picking up those two state senate seats and holding on to our house, that's going to allow me to do things like raising the minimum wage and helping more people.

Yeah. And you put your money where your mouth is. You're like, "Look, I've tried it every single time. You give me two more seats, look what I'll be able to do for you." That's huge difference. You'll get it done. And like, look, you and I aren't going to talk about midterms or your race or 2026 because you're speaking to me as a governor, not a candidate. But with that being said, are you concerned as the leader of your state with the safety of our elections? Because that's what everyone's talking about right now or the steps that this current administration is taking to make them less free and fair. So those things cannot happen. So we cannot make real change. So we cannot hold this administration accountable.

I am very very concerned and I want to be clear. I'm not an alarmist on this. Let let me explain the history and and and where we are today. And I'm grateful you raised this because I think this is an unbelievably important issue. Back in 2020 when Trump lost here in Pennsylvania, remember he won in Pennsylvania in 2016. He lost in 2020. I was the attorney general at the time and he and his allies sued me 43 different times. 43 different times to try and overturn or throw out the votes of Pennians. He went 0 and 43. I went 43 and 0 and we had a free and fair, safe and secure election. So, I have seen this guy and his allies do everything in their power to try and undermine the rule of law and take away people's votes. And so, now fast forward to our midterms. Why wouldn't he try to do the same thing? He's basically told us that.

Now, here's the good news. We in Pennsylvania through our 67 counties and our Department of State, we run the elections. Donald Trump and the federal government do not. And in fact, when the federal government about a month, maybe two months ago at this point, demanded that I turn over all of the private personal information for all voters in Pennsylvania. I said no, and they sued me. But I'm going to protect the voters of this Commonwealth. And let me be clear, voters who vote for me and voters who don't vote for me, voters who are Democrats, voters who are Republicans, voters who are independent, the law requires us to protect that information.

And the law requires us to have free and fair, safe and secure elections in each of our 67 counties. And guess what, Lee? Sometimes Democrats win, sometimes Republicans win. And that means the system is working. And so we're going to continue to protect the sanctity of our elections. But make no mistake, I I am not being an alarmist here. Donald Trump and his allies are going to do everything in their power to try and undermine it.

Yeah. Oh, you just have to look around the country at the gerrymandering in the red states, the Save Act they're trying to pass in Congress, which is essentially a pole tax and a way to get women not to vote. You know, uh there's attack on mail and voting, the removal of dropboxes around the country, the changing of the rules of the USPS about when they can be actually counted, and now you've got everyone from Steve Bannon to Donald Trump himself saying that they're going to have ICE surrounding polling stations to intimidate voters. So, you know, this is an actual thing that we have to be concerned about. And it's and you know, you're not the only governor who's being sued for state voter roles. You know what I mean? He's I think he's got 20 active lawsuits right now trying to steal voting roles and voting information just like he marched into Georgia last week and took all their voting information. So, this is

something we have to take really seriously. You're not the only public official that has been the victim of actual political violence, right? Are you concerned about the political violence in this country? Because between Trump's rhetoric and Steven Miller's demonization and othering of people, you know, I think we are looking at more and more political violence in this country and you're someone that has dealt with it firsthand.

You know, political violence has sadly always been part of our culture. It's always been part of our society and our politics. But it is clear that over the last couple three four years the amount of political violence has just skyrocketed and it sometimes targets people on the left and it sometimes targets people on the right. Hell, just in my state within the last year or so, Donald Trump was targeted in Butler and my family and I were targeted in Harrisburg. One Republican, one Democrat. You've seen Charlie Kirk murdered in Utah and Melissa Hortman murdered in Minneapolis.

You see people walking around with the scars of political violence. Gabby Gfords, Congresswoman Gabby Gfords and Congressman Steve Scaliz, one Democrat, one Republican. Why do I say that? Because political violence doesn't belong to one party or the other. And the targets sadly are both parties. There was a guy 72 hours ago here in Pennsylvania that was just arrested for making terroristic threats against me and my family. He's in jail, right? Second time in less than a year someone's in jail for threatening me and my family. I think what we need right now is for all leaders, starting with the president, including me and others, to speak and act with moral clarity and to condemn this. When the president of the United States stands up after Erica Kirk's eulogy and says he doesn't possess the capacity to respect others, to allow for others to be acknowledged in in their moments of pain, to mention

Charlie Kirk but not mention Melissa Hortman, and to pretend he doesn't know who she was, notwithstanding the proximities of their killings in in time. That suggests to me that he's not someone who can speak and act out of moral clarity. The good news is there's a number of Democrats and Republicans, my colleague, Governor Spencer Cox of Utah, who have the ability to do that. So, I think number one, it starts with leaders condemning all violence and and acting with moral clarity. Second, I think we have to be serious as a society about getting back to the place where we argue about our differences, but we don't threaten violence over our differences.

Third, I think we've got to show that government kind of comes back to the first part of our conversation. The government can solve problems for people. Now, I want to be really clear. You know, there are a number of people who get so frustrated because government's not making their lives better or solving their problems that that puts them in a place where they're angry. Now, I want to be really clear that doesn't ever condone political violence, nor should it be an excuse for political violence. But when you've got a government that's not working, when you've got politicians who are stoking folks up, when you've got people then who've got other issues in their lives, be it mental health being prayed upon on social media, being prayed upon through these nihilistic chat, you know, chat groups that encourage this kind of violence, it all ends up fitting together. And so I think it starts with

leaders saying, "No, this is not okay. No matter how much I disagree with politician X, you should never ever ever threaten him or her or their family starts there. And then we've got to have a government that is focusing on problem solving and trying to address the people that are really hurting and angry, despondent, and capable of this kind of violence in our communities.

Yeah. And quite frankly, I would love to stop being blamed for all political violence. Being on the left, I'm like, again? You're blaming us again? It's exhausting and I think people are hurt by their own country doing that to them

and people see right they see right through it. Again, you know, it should not be hard to acknowledge the killing of Melissa Hortman in Minneapolis in Minnesota. Shouldn't be hard to do that. And by the way, it doesn't take away anything from Charlie Kirk's murder or vice versa. We should be able to hold both of those truths at the same time that what happened to both of them is wrong. What happened to Donald Trump in a field in Butler was wrong. What happened to me and my family and the governor's residence in Harrisburg is wrong. None of it is okay. It shouldn't be hard to say that.

Yeah. And it shouldn't be hard to lead from that position. I want to thank you so much for joining us today, Governor. Please tell the people listening and who might be feeling demoralized or distraught right now what you think we should be focusing on before you go because I know you just did the state of the state address in Pennsylvania. What did you tell your own people at this moment in history?

That this is not a moment to pull the covers up and turn off the the TV. Th this is a moment to engage and people have real power in this country. I think the the brilliance of our founders is that they left the power to the people and they left the work really incompletely. They left it to successive generations. And this is a moment that's going to call on all of us to step up. You know, Lee, I I I told you at the beginning, I'm a big fan of you and your show. You decided one day you had something to say and you picked up a microphone and you started to say it.

People listen and as a result of them listening, they're doing, right? Listen and do. You're encouraging people to be actively engaged in their society in a constructive non-violent way. And I think that that is so important. You found your power. Not everybody's going to be able to work up the courage to create a great podcast and sit here, you know, with a microphone and and and talk as you do, but there's other ways that they can use their power in their community on a school board, you know, in their community group. They don't even have to have an elected position.

They just have to care about this community and and be engaged in it. And and I get the worry. And at the end of the day, the greatest power we all have as Americans is the power to vote. And I do think people need to turn out. I I think it needs to be a national referendum. Don't don't just turn out if you're in a swing district or a swing state like mine. Turn out and send a clear message that you do not like what's going on. Make this a referendum on the chaos, the cruelty, and the corruption in Washington DC. And I think if people do that, they're going to realize they've got great power and they can change the trajectory of this great country.

Amen to that. Thank you so much, Governor Shapiro. Thank you for joining us today.

Awesome to be with you. Continued success. I appreciate you. So, that was Governor Josh Shapiro reminding us that government should be a force for good. And the next election won't be about party loyalty, but a referendum on the chaos and cruelty and corruption that we are seeing right now. That this isn't a moment to pull the covers over your head or check out, but to re-engage. Because it really is the people who have the power. that this is the time for all of us to come out and show that we believe, as Bad Bunny said at the Super Bowl, that love really is greater than hate and we want and deserve better than what our federal government is offering. I want to thank Governor Shapiro for joining us today and you for caring enough about democracy to be here. Until next week, PG.

Before you go, I don't know if you've noticed, but left-wing and progressive creators like myself who share the truth and facts are getting drowned out by right-wing propaganda and lies. The mainstream media is barely hanging on, and it is becoming harder and harder to find anything that isn't some sort of billionaire backed propaganda at this point. So, if you respect what I'm trying to do here, if you learned something from my podcast and rants, if you would like to get this podcast adree delivered directly to your inbox along with my kitchen rants and TV appearances, then please consider becoming a member of the Politics Premium family by going to politicsgirl.com and signing up. If you are already a Politicsgirl Premium member, thank you so much for your support. And if you're not, please consider becoming a patron of my work.

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Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Dem Gov FLIPS THE SCRIPT on Trump after VP is BOOED | PoliticsGirl"?

Lee McGowan (Host), Josh Shapiro (Guest).

What is "Dem Gov FLIPS THE SCRIPT on Trump after VP is BOOED | PoliticsGirl" about?

The main topic centers on the significance of voter participation as a means to challenge the current political climate characterized by chaos, cruelty, and corruption. The discussion highlights the recent negative sentiment towards American leadership, particularly following an incident at the Olympics, and emphasizes the importance of strong state leadership, featuring Pennsylvania's Governor…

What is mentioned in this MeidasTouch episode?

12 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Josh Shapiro, Lee McGowan, ICE, Where We Keep the Light: Stories from a Life of Service, Democratic Party, Philadelphia. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Dem Gov FLIPS THE SCRIPT on Trump after VP is BOOED | PoliticsGirl"?

The episode runs 47 min; the transcript is about 9,371 words in 84 timestamped sections.

More from MeidasTouch

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated February 12, 2026.