Nearly 2,000 people filled the gym at Wissahickon High School in Ambler, Pa. on Monday to hear Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer make the case for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.
The audience’s energy and enthusiasm mirrored some Trump rallies.
And if vice presidents are supposed to be the president’s attack dogs, Shapiro bared his teeth for this potential audition to share the ticket with Harris.
In remarks greeted by cheers, applause and whistles, Shapiro fired broadsides at Trump while Whitmer lambasted Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), the Republicans’ vice-presidential nominee.
Gretchen Whitmer (Credit: Harris for Pennsylvania)
“Vice President Harris has been battle-tested,” Shapiro said, touting her background as “a tough-as-nails prosecutor.”
“She is ready to be not just the standard-bearer of our party, but to be the 47th president of the United States. She’s not only ready. She’s damn ready. You know who else knows she’s ready? Donald Trump knows she’s ready.”
“He’s afraid to debate her now…He’s afraid to debate her because he can’t defend his record.”
“He’s got a record of failure,” Shapiro claimed.
“He packed the Supreme Court. He ended Roe v. Wade. Donald Trump did that,” Shapiro said. “He did that when he had no earthly idea of how to be president. He didn’t know what he was doing and there were a whole lot of guardrails around Donald Trump when he was president.”
He told the crowd to “be extra scared” because the U.S. Supreme Court “just ruled that the rule of law doesn’t apply to Donald Trump,” a reference to a ruling defining the scope of presidential immunity.
“He is dangerous. He is destructive, and the guardrails are off.”
Shapiro also attacked the Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025,” alleging it was “Trump’s Project 2025,” though Trump played no role in creating this conservative wish list compiled by a D.C. think tank.
“I’ve got a message to Donald Trump: Stop sh*t-talking America,” Shapiro added. “While he’s hugging the flag, he’s ripping away our freedoms. It’s not freedom to tell our children what books they’re allowed to read…It’s not freedom to tell women what they’re allowed what they’re do with their bodies.”
Whitmer turned her sights on Vance. “He’s made his values clear. He does not see women as equals. He does not want everyone to have a seat at the table. He’s scared of us because Democrats want everyone to have a seat at the table, even cat lovers and dog lovers alike.”
“He is efficient. In one sentence, he insulted women, Black people, and Jewish people,” said Whitmer.
The people who DVJournal spoke to were fans of both Harris and Shapiro.
Robert Arnold of Doylestown said Shapiro is “clearly thoughtful, intelligent, not reactionary.” He met Shapiro once, and “he was very pleasant and approachable. I agree with a lot of his policies.”
Ekins Park resident Roz Weiss called Harris “brilliant.”
“She’s got the energy we need,” said Weiss. “She’s a person that comes from the heart like Joe Biden. She cares about people. She’s got a lot of courage.”
“In America, we’re a tapestry of people,” added Weiss, who was one of the White women supporters on a two-hour Zoom call for Harris last week. “We’ve got to celebrate that not denigrate it.”
She believes Shapiro is “a man of integrity and honesty.”
Her daughter, Amy Martin, of Abington, said she supports the Democratic candidates because she has a transgender child and a 12-year-old daughter.
“I want her to be able to choose what to do with her body,” she said.
Oreland resident Paul Halpern said he “loves” Shapiro’s policies as a governor.
“He’s highly capable,” said Halpern. “He’s got a lot of government experience. He started at the bottom and worked his way up.”
As for Harris, “I think she’s battle-tested.”
“She’ll rip [Trump’s] liver out and serve it with a nice chianti during the debate,” Halpern said, quoting “Silence of the Lambs.” “I think she can win,” he added.
Former state Sen. Daylin Leach, who lives in Upper Merion, said he likes and admires Harris.
“She’s peaking at just the right time,” said Leach. He also praised Shapiro as someone who is in politics to help people.
“He cares a lot about people,” said Leach. “He cares about his community.” And Shapiro listens to others’ perspectives. “He’s a rare person in politics.”
Darby Township Commissioner Racquel Holman said the rally was “great.”
“It was energizing,” said Holman. As for Shapiro, “I think he’d make a great running mate for Vice President Harris.”
Kush Desai, a Republican National Committee spokesman, dismissed the criticisms.
Harris, Shapiro, and Whitmer were beating “the dead horse that is Project 2025,” Desai said.
He cited Harris’ record of open borders, inflation, an anti-energy crusade, “capitulating to the far-left on Israel,” and “embracing defund the police radicals.”
Shapiro had his own message.
“I want a future where I can look the 47th president in the eye, and say, ‘Hello, Madame President.’”
