Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) in a recent interview reflected on the fire that was started on his home in Harrisburg last weekend, saying it's endemic of the escalating threat of political violence.
"This is sadly a real part of our society today, and it needs to be universally condemned," Shapiro told ABC's George Stephanopoulos in an interview that aired on "Good Morning America" (GMA) on Friday.
"I don't care if it's coming from the left, from the right. I don't care if it's coming from someone who you voted for or someone who you didn't vote for, someone on your team or someone on the other team," he added, as the two spoke in one of the stately home's charred and gutted rooms.
The suspect, 38-year-old Cody Allen Balmer, is facing multiple charges related to the early Sunday morning arson attack that took place while Shapiro and his family slept after a Passover Seder at the residence.
With tears welling, the Keystone State governor recalled the peaceful event before his family escaped the blaze.
"We had — I get emotional just thinking — had our family; we had guests from the community, from across Pennsylvania," he told Stephanopoulos. "It was just a really beautiful night."
Shapiro, a Democratic rising star who nearly became former Vice President Harris’s running mate in the 2024 presidential election, is Jewish.
No one was injured in the fire, but it caused significant damage to his official residence that will cost millions to repair. Authorities have said that a closed kitchen door likely stopped the fire from spreading into the living quarters where Shapiro's family slept.
According to court documents, Balmer said he hated Shapiro and would have assaulted him with a hammer if he had encountered the governor during the attack. The suspect, who was denied bail at his arraignment Monday, cited "perceived injustices to the people of Palestine" as his motivation, investigators said.
But Shapiro wouldn't say during the interview whether he believes the fire should be considered a hate crime.
"I think that's a question for the prosecutors to determine. They're going to determine motive," he said.
The Democrat had not heard directly from President Trump at the time of the interview, he said, but he had spoken to FBI director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi. Federal authorities are assisting with the state's investigation.
Trump remarked that "a thing like that cannot be allowed to happen," when reporters asked him Monday about the attack.
"The attacker was not a fan of Trump, I understand, just from what I read and from what I’ve been told," he said. "The attacker basically wasn’t a fan of anybody; he was probably just a whack job."
The president previously blasted Shapiro in a social media post after the governor spoke during the Democratic National Convention last August, referring to him as the "highly overrated Jewish Governor of the Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania."
Shapiro stressed the importance of officials "speaking and acting with moral clarity" against politically motivated threats and attacks.
"Immediately following the assassination attempt on [Trump] in Butler, Pa., I condemned that in the strongest of terms," he said. "I spoke to the victims; I went to Butler."
He noted he also went to Altoona, Pa., after alleged gunman Luigi Mangione was arrested there following the deadly shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
"I immediately went there and condemned that kind of violence in clear terms," the governor said. "I think it's also important when you're not dealing with a traumatic event in Butler and Altoona— or here in Harrisburg — to be leading every day in a way that, like, brings people together and doesn't just continually divide us.”
GMA's interview included a tour of the damage.
"It's our first time back in this room…" Shapiro said with first lady Lori Shapiro at his side. "I was in here at about maybe 3 (o'clock) in the morning with the fire chief when it became immediately apparent to me, this wasn't just, you know, an accidental fire — candle being left on or something."
"We're doing okay. You know, our kids are resilient; Lori's been a rock; and I'm trying to be a good dad, a good husband, a good Governor in that order," the governor added.
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