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Josh Shapiro: “I was critical of Joe Biden when he pardoned his son.”

Featuring: Josh Shapiro, Democratic | Governor of Pennsylvania

Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race

Published April 8, 2026 | Video Starts at 43:29

How would you reshape that tool? Well, let's be clear, and I don't think you're suggesting this, but. And I was critical of Joe Biden when he pardoned his son. Right. I was critical of him publicly. What we are seeing under Donald Trump, you have to admit, is next level when it comes to the abuse on the way. (43:29–43:33)

CLAIM

Asserts that Joe Biden pardoned his son, and Josh Shapiro was critical of this action.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Josh Shapiro

“We've created more jobs in all but two states in the entire country.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 02:48-02:52
“We've issued 40 million permits during my time as governor.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 03:24-03:29
“We've only had to issue five refunds, meaning only five of those permits were late.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 03:28-03:34
“We are now the only growing economy in the northeastern part of the United States.”
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“We hired 2,000 more police officers, invested in community violence prevention, and violent crime is down 12%.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 27:30-27:48
“Fatal gun violence is down 42% [in Pennsylvania].”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 27:39-27:42
“Donald Trump chose to push the tariff button. Right. And as a result, here in Pennsylvania, what we're seeing is coffee prices are up 30%…”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 29:01-29:21
“50% of my housing was built prior to 1950.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 34:00-34:04
“62% of my adult population here in Pennsylvania do not have a college degree.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 35:07-35:14
“We've cut taxes seven different times to be more competitive.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 02:51-02:56
“We've got an unemployment rate below the national rate consistently over the last 32 months.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 03:56-04:03
“Some of this we've done administratively, meaning I've signed executive orders and we've made those changes.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 06:07-06:13
“I've got a Senate led by Republicans by just two seats and a House led by Democrats by just one seat.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 06:27-06:34
“It took 20 days for a barber to get their permit to be able to go out and cut hair. Today you get it, same day.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 07:06-07:14
“Prior to serving as governor... I was the state's attorney general.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 11:23-11:32
“During COVID there were those PPP loans to help our small businesses and other businesses stay afloat.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 11:32-11:39
“I went out and prosecuted a whole bunch of people for stealing that PPP money.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 11:44-11:49
“We've had more Medicaid fraud prosecutions in Pennsylvania. I think any other state, maybe there was one other.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 12:14-12:21
“We've cut taxes seven times in Pennsylvania.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 14:24-14:27
“We've got one of the lowest income taxes in the entire country.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 14:27-14:31
“That kind of tax [wealth tax] that you're describing is not something we have here.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 14:36-14:41
“We've struck a really good balance here in Pennsylvania, and I think our growth numbers bear that out.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 15:02-15:09
“We're seeing people plant a flag here in Pennsylvania, start with an idea...because of our tax environment.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 15:35-15:46
“We've tried to address some of that economic disparity by passing the first ever working Pennsylvanians tax credit.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 18:00-18:08
“About 940,000, almost a million Pennsylvanians are going to qualify for a little over 800 bucks back in their pockets.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 18:16-18:24
“I've got 500,000 Pennsylvanians who are going to lose their health care.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 19:09-19:17
“I've got 120,000 who have already lost their health care.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 19:16-19:20
“26 rural hospitals that are likely to shutter because...they're relying so much on Medicaid.”
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“Democrats took a shellacking. Actually, you look at 20, 25, it was the opposite. The president's party, the Republican Party, got beat.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 21:52-22:00
“We won three state supreme court seats [in Pennsylvania].”
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“I'm running for reelection right now in Pennsylvania.”
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“About 48 hours before she picked Tim Walls, I pulled out, made clear that that was not something I was interested in doing.”
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“We've invested in public education, and by the way, scores are up. Truancy is down.”
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“We're about 10th, according to consumer affairs and the quality of public education.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 27:50-27:55
“With these tariffs, obviously, this war has spiked. Gas prices up today about 415, 416 here in Pennsylvania, similar across the country…”
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“I'm for investing in public education, giving every child of God an opportunity.”
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“We're building that here and we're reducing crime in all of our communities.”
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“I'm for a pro growth economy where we generate more energy, we generate more jobs, where we create more opportunities, particularly in our…”
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“I've asked the legislature for a $1 billion fund to be able to build more housing in Pennsylvania and repair existing housing.”
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“The first day I was governor, the first executive order I signed was to do away with the college degree requirement to work for state…”
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“60% of all of our hires in state government don't have a college degree.”
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“We followed up on that by tripling our funding for votech and CTE in our high schools.”
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“We're no longer taking an elitist approach that shuts people out just because they don't have a college degree.”
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“The Congress of the United States, the leadership there, I mean, they're frankly kind of sad, pathetic people.”
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“Johnson, in as a speaker, and he's effectively a rubber stamp for anything Donald Trump wants.”
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“The Congress of the United States walks away from their responsibilities, whether on tariffs or whether on declaring war.”
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“You've seen a whole bunch of people that put Donald Trump, but before the oath of office, they take to the Constitution.”
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“The checks and balance system that was constructed here in Pennsylvania is not standing the test of time.”
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“There has been an extraordinary amount of self-dealing [in the current administration].”
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“There has been a good bit of family members doing quite well [financially] in this environment.”
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“You're seeing more and more people who have the President's ear being able to lobby him at his swim club to get a pardon.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 42:14-42:23
“Taking a billion-dollar jet from the Qataris and thinking there's nothing attached to that.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 42:24-42:38
“What we are seeing under Donald Trump, you have to admit, is next level [abuse of pardon power].”
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“I sit at this desk here and I sign pardons and clemencies and I take that responsibility so seriously.”
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“Our founders, when they vested that kind of authority in an executive, didn't necessarily do something wrong by giving the executive that…”
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“If you sidle up to [the President] at his swim club, you donate a certain amount of money maybe, or you have his ear for some other social…”
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“There was an investigation by the Department of Justice [into Hunter Biden].”
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“Finding our way back to [norms and ethics] is a bipartisan exercise.”
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“Antisemitism is a problem in our society and is a problem on the left, and it is a problem on the right.”
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“Netanyahu, the leader of Israel, is someone who's been leading Israel down a dangerous and isolated path.”
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“Netanyahu has fractured, really, what used to be a nonpartisan or bipartisan American support for Israel.”
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“America's interest in the region should be for stability and peace, and that it would be my hope that you would have two states living…”
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“This was a war of choice. The president never defined the objectives.”
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“America's national security interests have not been well served by this [war].”
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“Economically, we are worse off because of this war.”
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“He screwed over the farmers who put him in power. He told people he wouldn't slash Medicaid. He cut Medicaid.”
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“Prices have skyrocketed because of his tariffs.”
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“America should never be led around by any other nation. It should always be about America's interests, our national security interests, and…”
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“We should never, ever be bullied, as maybe President Trump was, by any other world leader.”
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“On anti-Semitism there should be no nuance. And that's a conversation where we should all be able to unite.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 59:31-59:41
“We have to protect a place for nuance when it comes to [Middle East] policy, when it comes to Israel, when it comes to Iran.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 59:40-59:48
“We need to give space for those who want to peacefully protest.”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 59:51-59:58
“I try and do this work every day as governor to keep those conversations separate, because when they get blended, that's where I think it…”
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race | Uploaded April 8, 2026 | 1:00:13-1:00:21