Governor Josh Shapiro of Abington Township told reporters that President Donald Trump called him on Saturday morning to share his “warm regards.”
“I actually didn’t take his call because it came from his cell phone and I didn’t have that number,” the governor said during an unrelated news conference in Pittsburgh on Monday. “I called him right back. He was very gracious, he asked how Lori and the kids were doing, and we talked for a couple minutes about what transpired at the residence, and then we talked for the next 15 minutes about a whole host of topics.”
“I appreciated his call very much, and we agreed to stay in touch,” Shapiro said three days after he appeared on “Good Morning America” for an exclusive interview.
A clip from the conference is below:
During the same outing, Shapiro told reporters that he “does not have to be there” regarding the trial of the alleged arsonist Cody Balmer, a 38-year-old man from Harrisburg accused of aggravated arson, terrorism, and attempted homicide for setting the Pennsylvania governor’s residence on fire earlier this month.
The clip is below:
Last week in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters regarding the incident, “Certainly a thing like that cannot be allowed to happen.”
When asked whether he had been made aware of a potential motive, Trump replied, “No, I haven’t, but the attacker was not a fan of Trump, I understand, just from what I’ve read and from what I’ve been told. The attacker basically wasn’t a fan of anybody. He’s probably just a whack job.”
Officials have not announced a clear motive from Balmer. During a 911 call, he told dispatchers that Shapiro needs to be told he “will not take part in his plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people.” Balmer’s family told media outlets that he struggles with mental illness, and that he stopped taking his medication for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and had become “irritable and agitated.”
As promised, Shapiro, First Lady Lori Shapiro, Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis, and Second Lady Blayre Holmes Davis welcomed pre-K students from across the state this morning to the annual Easter Egg Hunt at the Governor’s Residence, according to a press release.
In related news, NBA superstar Charles Barkley—a former 76er who allegedly owns or owned property in Cheltenham Township—voiced support for Shapiro and Maryland Governor Wes Moore as Democratic candidates for the 2028 presidential race during an appearance on the “Sports Illustrated Media With Jimmy Trania” podcast last week.
“If the Democrats don’t get Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, or Wes Moore, the governor of Maryland, if they are not the leader or the team up for the Democratic Party, I would not even consider voting for anybody else other than one of those two,” Barkley said.
“If they don’t get Wes Moore or Josh Shapiro, I’m not voting for any Democrat other than those two,” he said.
The full podcast is below:
Photos: AP/Getty, Depositphotos