Trump is ‘very unimpressed with Shapiro’

Since he entered politics, President Trump has given other politicians nicknames. Think “Little Marco,” “Pocahontas,” or “Pencil Neck.”

Now Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has his own Trumpian appellation: “a stiff.”

“I am very unimpressed with Shapiro,” said Trump, when someone asked him about Pennsylvania’s governor. “I watched him on an interview. He’s a stiff.”

Trump was at Mar-a-Lago with state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, the Republican who is challenging Shapiro this year for the governorship, when he slammed Shapiro. Trump previously endorsed Garrity.

Since he published a book, “Where We Keep the Light,” Shapiro has been making the rounds on TV, as a guest on shows like “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and “Real Time with Bill Maher.”

Shapiro, who was interviewed to run as the vice presidential candidate with Kamala Harris in 2024, is widely believed to be considering a run for president in 2028. 

“President Trump is right. After years of practicing his Barack Obama impersonation, you’d think Josh Shapiro would be better,” said Matt Beynon, a spokesman for the Garrity campaign. 

“But you can’t fake charisma, and you definitely can’t fake results. Under Josh Shapiro’s failed administration, Pennsylvania ranks 38th economically, 39th in education, and 41st overall. We have 3,000 structurally deficient bridges, and nearly 70 percent of Pennsylvania’s 8th graders can’t read at grade level. As governor, Stacy Garrity’s priority will be fighting for hardworking Pennsylvanians, not trying to get a promotion to Pennsylvania Avenue like Josh Shapiro.”

As might be expected, Democrats are pushing back.

“Nearly everyone I know, regardless of politics, wishes the President would spend as much time fixing this war of choice he’s gotten us into than he does insulting people,” said T.J. Rooney, a Democratic political advisor and former state Democratic Party chairman. “Insulting Governor Shapiro won’t solve Trump’s War of Choice or bring down prices at the pump.”

Manuel Bonder, a spokesperson for the Shapiro campaign said, 

“Donald Trump is a disastrous president who is raising costs, screwing over farmers, cutting health care, and making life harder for families across the commonwealth. But don’t leave out the important part: the president’s candid admission that he likes to hang around with losers right before hanging out with none other than Stacy Garrity.”

However, Trump seemed to be joking when made the losers remark at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Priority Summit in Miami. 

Longtime Republican political consultant Charlie Gerow liked Trump’s new Shapiro moniker. 

“It’s a perfect description,” said Gerow. “For years, Josh Shapiro has worked hard to cover whatever real personality he has with a thick political veneer.”

His fake persona is now so thick and stiff — it looks like it’s starting to crack.”

Linda Stein is a Philadelphia-area journalist.