After a week marked by heightened political tensions both at home and abroad due to Donald Trump, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro appeared on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday night, skillfully avoiding a direct answer to whether he plans to run for president in 2028.
“I’m not an expert in the DC stuff,” Shapiro said, addressing the latest Democratic figure to gain attention on Maher’s show. “I try and stay as far away from that as I can. I live in the real world in Pennsylvania, where we have to balance budgets.”
Despite this, Shapiro, often echoing the tone of former President Barack Obama, was quick to express his frustration with Senate Democrats. Specifically, he criticized Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other top Democrats for their handling of recent negotiations, particularly regarding the GOP’s proposed six-month spending measure aimed at avoiding a government shutdown.
“I would have liked to see when Chuck Schumer had leverage here, to say we need A, B, C, and D for the Democratic Party, and force the Republicans to meet him halfway on those issues and deliver something for the folks who are worried now,” Shapiro told Maher, advocating for a more assertive strategy in negotiations with the GOP.
Shapiro later shared an anecdote from a recent trip to a Dick’s Sporting Goods store, where constituents approached him with concerns about the Democratic Party’s lackluster responses to Trump, Elon Musk, and what they see as the erosion of government protections.
With Trump’s policies, including trade wars with Canada and Mexico, mass civil service firings, and politically motivated detentions, Shapiro has positioned himself as a strong voice of centrist opposition in a time when former leaders like Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and Joe Biden seem absent from the political stage.
“They’re worried,” Shapiro said, referring to everyday Pennsylvanians who spoke with him in the store. “They want to see action. There was an opportunity for more action here.”
During the interview, Maher, who has been vocal in his criticism of MAGA policies, pressed Shapiro on whether the governor’s faith and identity as a Jewish person played a role in him not being chosen as Kamala Harris’ running mate in 2020.
“Look, I’ll just say one quick thing on that whole vice president thing,” Shapiro responded. “I said all along that Kamala Harris had a deeply personal decision to make in that process. In the end, so did I.”
After a dramatic pause, Shapiro, a potential 2028 presidential contender, shifted the conversation to his love for serving as governor. “I love being governor of Pennsylvania, and I love charting my own course and being able to serve the people on my terms,” he stated. “That’s point number one. Point number two is, as it relates to faith, as it relates to my Judaism. I’m damn proud of my faith, and I’m damn proud of the people of Pennsylvania, and how they received that.”
He continued, “I’m inspired every day by the way my outward expression of my faith is received by the people I serve,” emphasizing his pride in his faith and his leadership.
Despite this compelling display, Shapiro declined to confirm whether he’s planning a presidential run in 2028.
Maher, who won’t be on any ballot himself, also used the Friday night episode to lambast Trump, calling him “the Ozempic of the economy” during his opening monologue. He criticized the loss of $5 trillion in market value due to Trump’s erratic tariff policies and the destabilizing impact of Elon Musk’s corporate decisions. Maher also mocked the Republican Party for its subservience to Trump, comparing it to the totalitarianism of North Korea, and criticized MAGA’s economic and diplomatic failures as the former reality TV star returned to power.
In addition to Shapiro’s interview, Real Time also featured Sam Stein, managing editor of The Bulwark and MSNBC contributor, and Batya Ungar-Sargon, a self-described “MAGA leftist” and author of Second Class: How the Elites Betrayed America’s Working Men and Women.
You can watch a clip of Maher’s opening monologue from last night’s episode above.
