Gov. Josh Shapiro promised fair elections, condemned ICE at his book tour launch in Philly Saturday afternoon
Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro took the stage Saturday to discuss his memoir, Where We Keep The Light, with Pastor Marshall Mitchell, whose counsel he sought after the arson attempt.
Gov. Josh Shapiro recounted Saturday to a crowd of nearly 500 in Philadelphia how he found himself struggling as a father weeks after his family survived an arson attempt at the governor’s mansion on Passover last year.
That’s when the proudly Jewish governor went to Salem Baptist Church in his hometown of Abington for counsel and support from Pastor Marshall Mitchell.
“I could feel the power of their prayers,” Shapiro recalled. “I think that’s helped me be a better, more compassionate governor for all.”
Mitchell, a longtime Shapiro friend who served on his transition team, joined the governor onstage at the Central Library of the Free Library of Philadelphia to discuss his memoir, Where We Keep The Light, set for release Tuesday.
The conversation focused on the governor’s spiritual journey and family, but it also offered critiques of both parties and promises to the community.
“There’s a lot more that unites us,” Shapiro said during the hour-long conversation. “There’s a lot more common bonds that we have. And we have to find our way back to that.”
Shapiro opined that the city’s Quaker founder, William Penn, “would have never imagined a Jewish governor and a Black preacher sitting up here, but I bet he’d be proud of that.”
The Philadelphia event kicked off a flurry of promotional events as Shapiro plans to travel to New York, Boston, and Washington in the coming week. A CBS interview focused on the book is also slated to air Sunday.
The release of the memoir comes as Shapiro is seeking a second term as governor, but it has fueled speculation about his potential presidential ambitions in 2028.
“I think people want authenticity from our leadership, and I think he’s providing it,” said State Rep. Sharif Street, a Philadelphia Democrat running for Congress, who attended the event. “I think Josh Shapiro would make an excellent president.”
The book, which has been shared with The Inquirer and other outlets, includes details on what Shapiro called an “offensive” vetting process to be Kamala Harris’ running mate when she took over the Democratic presidential ticket for President Joe Biden in 2024. Shapiro said he was being unfairly scrutinized as the only Jewish person in the running for the vice presidency.
Harris did not come up during the conversation with Mitchell.
Shapiro weighs in on ICE’s crackdown as protesters gather outside
Shapiro answered several submitted questions after the discussion. He said that he expects President Donald Trump to attempt to disrupt the 2026 election, as he did in 2020.
“We are on it. We are prepared. We will do everything in our power to protect your vote.”
Shapiro also said that his team was prepared to handle a Minneapolis-style Immigration and Customs Enforcement action in Pennsylvania.
“What we are seeing in Minnesota is absolutely unacceptable,” Shapiro told the crowd. “What we are seeing is lawlessness by these federal agents.”
The conversation took place just hours after ICE agents shot and killed a man in Minneapolis, which Shapiro decried as an atrocity.
» READ MORE: ICE officers shoot, kill another person in Minneapolis
Outside the book event, roughly 100 protesters gathered in the bitter cold to demand that Shapiro “stop working with ICE.”
Pennsylvania has no sanctuary policy limiting cooperation with ICE — though Philadelphia and several other jurisdictions in the state do.
Immigration advocates contend Shapiro is collaborating by allowing ICE access to state databases that they said provide the agency with facial recognition and personal information that can put immigrants in Pennsylvania at risk.
“As the governor, he has an opportunity to step up and lead with conviction, especially at a moment when people are dying in ICE custody,” said Jasmine Rivera, executive director of the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition. “Instead, he is arming ICE with the information they need to attack his own people.”
Democrats are likely to be grappling with how best to respond to Trump’s immigration crackdown and other policies as they head into this year’s midterms and the next presidential cycle.
But Shapiro warned the party risks alienating voters with too much of a focus on Trump.
“I think we can’t be a party that is defined by being negative on Donald Trump all the time,” Shapiro said.