In a joint appearance with CNN’s Dana Bash, Democratic Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Republican Utah Governor Spencer Cox denounced the surge in political violence and urged politicians, including President Donald Trump, to contribute to bringing down the nation’s temperature.
The president’s remarks against Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota during a rally in Pennsylvania prompted the two to react on Tuesday. The president called her native country “filthy, unclean, disgusting, rife with crime” and declared that his government “needs to get her the heck out” of the United States.
Cox emphasized that it is not necessary to disparage Omar’s ethnicity or religion in order to demand her removal from office.
“I realize that the president is not interested in unifying the country, and he would tell you that, I think, if he were sitting here with us tonight,” he said after stating, “I know that the president disagrees with me.”
Shapiro claimed that the president had not fulfilled his obligation to speak “with moral clarity.”
“When he assaults a fellow American in that way, it sends a signal to others in this society that individuals may be picked out, scapegoated, targeted, or, worst still, become victims of political violence,” he added. “I believe the president needs to perform better.”
As part of a campaign to speak out against the surge in political violence, including recent incidents that have rocked their own states, Cox and Shapiro spoke with CNN inside the Washington National Cathedral. A guy attempted to kill Shapiro and his family in April by setting the governor’s residence on fire. Charlie Kirk, a conservative pundit, was killed in September on a Utah college campus.
Shapiro stated that even though he disagrees with Cox on a number of subjects, he thought it was crucial to participate in the endeavor.
“Showing the American people that there are leaders who can disagree, but disagree in a constructive way, is the antidote to the violence that we are witnessing,” he stated.
The two discussed how their respective religions—Cox is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, while Shapiro is Jewish—affect how they approach politics. They also discussed the necessity of confronting members of their own parties who use harmful language.
“Calling it out wherever we see it is part of speaking and acting with moral clarity,” Shapiro stated, citing leftists who applauded Kirk’s passing or the Trump assassination attempt in Butler last year.
There were some policy contrasts between the two as well. Shapiro attacked the president’s measures, including tariffs and this year’s tax and domestic policy bills, which he claimed contributed to the affordability worries that Trump has called a “hoax.”
Shapiro stated, “I would argue that this is not a hoax, but this is a situation where people actually need relief.”
“We want the president to be successful in bringing down prices. The issue is that all of his policies have increased costs,” he continued.
Cox acknowledged that voters’ worries about the expense of living are legitimate, but he mostly blamed the previous government. According to him, Trump ran on such economic concerns and won the presidency in 2024.
Cox stated, “I think the Biden policies did affect our country, and I think they do continue to hurt our country.” “Those measures caused prices to rise significantly. To be honest, I do not think we are doing enough to lower those prices at the moment.
Throughout the conversation, Cox and Shapiro praised each other’s efforts to “get stuff done” in their states, despite their political disagreements.
Cox claimed that Shapiro is “biased” toward governors and that he would be an excellent president.
Cox remarked, “I have been really impressed with what he is been able to achieve on the economy, with permitting reform, lowering regulation—that sounded like red state stuff.” “And he is carrying it out.”
“I also want to say: I genuinely hope a Republican wins, I simply need to call it out,” the governor of Utah subsequently stated.
Cox would be a good leader, according to Shapiro.
“After three more years of Donald Trump, I think we are going to need a lot of healing in this nation,” Shapiro stated. “I believe a man like Spencer Cox can give our nation the moral clarity and healing it needs.”
