Josh Shapiro weighs in on Elon Musk, Pennsylvania elections, disinformation

LANCASTER, Pa. – Josh Shapiro sits at the top of what may be one of the most important states this election, and he said he’s doing everything he can to make sure Kamala Harris wins in Pennsylvania.

“Every election I’ve ever been personally involved in, the feeling I have that night, that Monday night when I go to bed, is that I left everything on the field,” Shapiro told NBC News when asked if he wanted to do that. I have the feeling on the night before election day that he has done everything he can to get Harris elected.

“And at the rate I’m going now,” he added, “I’m pretty sure I’ll feel the same way.”

Two years after taking office, the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania enjoys high approval ratings and was one of the finalists to become Harris’s running mate, not least because of his landslide 15-point victory in the key swing state in 2022. Next month lose the election, choosing Minnesota Governor Tim Walz over Shapiro will be one of the first choices left in question.

Although he was not selected, Shapiro has been a sought-after surrogate, beating Harris in nearly 60 events since President Joe Biden left the race. He has also worked to boost Democratic candidates in elections, in state-level races and in key House and Senate seats across the country.

On the policy front, an adviser to Shapiro said the governor had talked to Harris and her campaign about eliminating college degree requirements for some federal jobs, similar to a policy Shapiro pursued at the state level in Pennsylvania. Harris announced that policy platform last month at a rally in Wilkes-Barre.

Shapiro spoke with NBC News Thursday for an interview about his fears and preparations for the election, his recent phone call during a Steelers game with billionaire Elon Musk — perhaps former President Donald Trump’s biggest supporter — and reporting tensions between him and one of the American heads of state. senators, Democrat John Fetterman.

Shapiro had just wrapped up a campaign event at a farm outside Lancaster aimed at bringing Republicans fed up with Trump into the Democratic coalition.

What follows is a partial transcript edited for clarity:

NBC NEWS: When Pennsylvania starts posting results on election night, where will you look to get an idea of ​​what the state will look like?

SHAPIRO: It’s a difficult question to answer because, as you know, this is a state that has fallen to 1% or less in the last two elections. You know, a few hundred votes in a rural county can literally make a big difference when you add it all up. I’m not avoiding your question, I’m not trying to avoid what you’re asking me. But I don’t look at one particular province. I kind of look at the broader range of things.

NBC NEWS: There haven’t been as many visits in the counties surrounding Philadelphia. Some concerns about the campaign in Pennsylvania were recently reported in Politico. Democrats are worried about Philadelphia. What do you think of the Harris campaign efforts in those places?

SHAPIRO: I’m not sure I agree with the characterization. She was literally there yesterday. And I believe they’ve had, I’m not sure how much this is public yet, a very robust schedule in the (Philly) burbs over the last ten days or so. So I think they put time into it.

I think the suburbs of Philadelphia are critical. If you take them together, they are much bigger than the city of Philadelphia. No respect for Philly at all. It’s a lot of people, and historically those are communities that have turned around. Democrat, Republican, back to Democrat. And so I think it’s important to be there and compete hard there.

NBC NEWS: What preparations are you making for Trump to potentially challenge the vote here, and do you expect him to do so?

SHAPIRO: We are already seeing lawsuits. So of course I expect this to remain the case. And like I said before, we’re used to this. In 2020, Donald Trump sued me, and his allies sued me 43 times. They voted 0 for 43. We voted 43 for 0, and we had free, fair, secure elections.

We’re going to have another free and fair, secure election because this election is run by Republican and Democratic election secretaries across Pennsylvania who are part of my election protection task force which is made up of those officials, attorneys, law enforcement. . It is chaired by Secretary Al Schmidt, the great secretary of our Commonwealth who oversees elections – a Republican, by the way, because we believe that organizing elections should be a nonpartisan activity. And so I expect the lawsuits to come. … But I also expect, again, that the will of the people will be respected.

NBC NEWS: Would you accept a role in a potential Kamala Harris administration?

SHAPIRO: I love my job as governor. I think I’ve made it very clear that I don’t want to go anywhere, and I’m not going to. I’ll stay here and serve as governor.

NBC NEWS: Did you speak to Elon Musk further after that first phone call?

SHAPIRO: No.

NBC NEWS: Do you believe he is serious about investing in Pennsylvania?

SHAPIRO: I do.

NBC NEWS: Obviously he’s playing a big role in trying to get people here to vote for the former president. What do you think of those efforts? He gives people a million dollars, right? I’m sure you saw the letter from the Department of Justice yesterday. What do you think about this?

SHAPIRO: Let me make it clear in my conversation with him now, a week or two or whatever, during the Steelers game, it was 100% about economic development. And I always fight hard to make sure people invest in Pennsylvania.

We didn’t talk about politics. We obviously have completely different views on politics, different choices and candidates. And that’s fine, people can voice their opinions, and I’m sure he will continue to do so. And I will too.

NBC NEWS: Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., recently said Democrats who are targeting Elon Musk over his efforts to boost Trump are taking their eyes off the ball. He also says Musk is quite popular with younger voters, especially in Pennsylvania. What do you think of his argument?

SHAPIRO: I haven’t seen his comments so I’m not sure I can comment on that.

NBC NEWS: Have you and Senator Fetterman had a conversation recently as the campaign has progressed, as we approach Election Day?

SHAPIRO: We are all working together for Kamala Harris and we are all rowing in the same direction.

NBC NEWS: Is there anything about the electorate in this cycle that has surprised you, whether it’s preferences or dynamics among voters in Pennsylvania or nationally?

SHAPIRO: This is the first presidential election where AI-driven misinformation and disinformation has been able to take root and really influence some of the feedback I hear from people.

Let me explain what I mean by that. People will see something that’s clearly untrue, but it’s being spread on Twitter or on the Internet, on some other social media site, and then it gets repeated to me and I say to someone, “You know, that’s not true. You right to your opinion about which candidate you like or vote for, but understand that you have no right to make up facts that are untrue, and this is why.” And interestingly enough, what most people said to me was, “Gosh, I didn’t know that, thanks for clarifying.”

Now they may not agree with my advocacy for Kamala Harris, which is fine, I understand that, but I think it’s very important to set that record straight and make sure that we are actually dealing, and so we see There is only more mis- and disinformation in the discourse that is no longer just on Twitter, but has entered a kind of broader dialogue. I think that’s really dangerous.

NBC NEWS: Do you think that stuff is specifically generated by AI? Or are we talking about the standard mis- and disinformation that I think we’ve been used to in recent years, but which is only being amplified further?

SHAPIRO: I think it’s all of the above. Look, some of the footage is AI-generated, some of this stuff. There are just people today with much bigger platforms than there were four years ago who are willing to just lie and make up complete, utter nonsense—and then try to pass it off as the truth.

NBC NEWS: You saw some of Trump’s comments about Arnold Palmer and saw him say the vice president was a “s—” vice president. You saw him at the event. This is all in Pennsylvania. You saw him at the event in the suburbs of Philly where he was on stage just listening to music for 40 minutes. Is he fundamentally a different person than the guy who was running in 2016 or 2020, or is this still the same guy?

SHAPIRO: I think he is much more unstable and erratic than he was eight years ago. I think he lacks coherence today. And while I disagreed with him eight years ago on the things he was advocating, he was generally much more coherent. He’s clearly in decline, and I think that’s a question the American people have to ask themselves.

I mean, this isn’t just about winning elections, this is about governing for the next four years. And does this man really have the capabilities and capabilities to rule for another four years? I think he shows in this campaign that he really doesn’t do that.