AMBLER, Pa. — Two of the Democratic Party’s top attack dogs, Govs. Gretchen Whitmer and Josh Shapiro, gave what amounted to running-mate auditions at a rally Monday for the Democratic Party’s new presumptive presidential nominee in a Pennsylvania county.
Inviting an audience of newly energized Democrats to call her “Big Gretch,” the Michigan governor defended Vice President Kamala Harris from GOP attacks on her Oval Office qualifications, arguing that former President Donald Trump and top Republicans, more than anything, are just scared of her.
“Let’s be clear, Kamala Harris has more experience than the Trump-Vance ticket combined,” Whitmer told hundreds assembled in a high school gym in Montgomery County, a Philadelphia suburb, as she referenced Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio. “Between the two of those dudes, they only have 5½ years ― and it’s not public service, it’s self-service.”
Whitmer called Harris, a former U.S. senator and California attorney general, “tough,” “experienced” and “ready” to continue Biden’s vision for the country. “The contrast in this election could not be more clear. Donald Trump bragged about overturning Roe v. Wade and sexually assaulting women. He lost tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs, including right here in Montgomery County.”
Shapiro, the first-term Pennsylvania governor, echoed Whitmer, saying that Trump won’t debate Harris because he’s simply too scared.
“She’s not only ready, she’s damn ready. You know who else knows she’s ready? Donald Trump knows she’s ready,” Shapiro said to rapturous applause. “You know how I know this? Because he’s afraid to debate her now, you see that? And it’s not just because she’s a skilled debater. … He’s a pretty good debater. It’s because he can’t defend his record.”
Shapiro also had a message for voters who are beginning to forget about Trump and “those days of chaos” in the White House. “Those days when you just didn’t want to pick up the phone to see what he did that day. … We don’t want to go back to that again.”
He added: ”[Trump] is dangerous. He is destructive. And the guardrails are off.”
Matt Rourke/Associated Press
The rally was designed to energize a key segment of suburban swing-state voters as much as it was a tryout for Shapiro and Whitmer, who are among the nearly dozen Democrats reportedly begin considered as Harris’ running mate. Harris’ shortlist skews overwhelmingly white and male with the exception of Whitmer, an emerging national figure who can deliver a key swing state while also being a compelling messenger on women’s issues and reproductive rights.
Whitmer laid into Vance as a sexist for his 2021 comments calling child-free Democratic women “childless cat ladies” with no stake in the country’s future.
“He does not see women as equals,” Whitmer said. “He does not want everyone to have a seat at the table. He’s scared of us because Democrats, we want everyone to have a seat at the table — even cat lovers and dog lovers alike.”
Shapiro has positioned himself as a moderate with a record of rooting out sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church and staunchly supporting Israel amid pro-Palestinian protests across the nation, particularly at college campuses. Like Whitmer, he could help deliver a swing state that’s a key component of the former president’s electoral strategy.
Both Shapiro and Whitmer shouted out President Joe Biden, a Pennsylvania native, but didn’t linger on his July 21 announcement that he was ending his reelection campaign. “Of course I want to thank a man who dedicated 50 years of his life, Scranton’s own Joe Biden,” Whitmer said.
After spending months barreling toward a likely blowout in November, many of the Democrats at the Harris event were no longer dreading the election the way they were a little more than a week ago, with Biden still committed to running. The vibes were positive, though reporters were barred for most of the event from speaking to attendees on the gym floor.
“We need a woman president to change things around,” said Michelle Cherry, a retired 62-year-old who last attended a political rally for former President Barack Obama. “You want me to be real with you, don’t you? [If Biden were still running], I probably wouldn’t have come.”
Holly Manzone, 67, said she expected a “landslide” for Harris and whomever she picks as a running mate. “Joe is such a nice guy. He’s such a good person. He just wouldn’t push back. And Kamala, she can do it now. She’s tough. She’s strong. Much stronger than he is.”
Manzone, however, said she doesn’t want Harris to pick Shapiro, instead wanting to see Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona on the ticket.
“He’s too good to give up,” she said of Shapiro.