Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s upcoming memoir shares surprising details about his talks with top government officials. The book includes a shocking warning from President Trump, who told him he shouldn’t run for president.
Shapiro is seen as a strong Democratic candidate for the 2028 presidential race. The advice from Trump came after someone set fire to Shapiro’s home last year. Trump called the governor and left a voicemail with his personal cell phone number, asking him to call back anytime.
According to The Daily Mail, when Shapiro returned the call, Trump immediately started talking about his own achievements. The president praised his work with the economy and pointed out the low gas prices during his time in office.
Trump’s warning reflects the real dangers presidents face today
The conversation then shifted to the 2028 election. Trump went through a list of possible Democratic candidates, though Shapiro doesn’t say who was mentioned. After that, Trump gave him the surprising advice. He told Shapiro he was good at solving problems and talking to people, but warned him he “shouldn’t want to be president given how dangerous it had become to hold the office.”
This is a serious warning, and it makes sense given what Trump has been through. He survived two assassination attempts in 2024 alone. A gunman named Thomas Crooks shot him at a Butler rally just hours before the Republican National Convention, hitting his ear. Later, Ryan Wesley Routh was convicted in 2025 for planning a sniper attack at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The book also reveals intense political drama from the 2024 election. Shapiro was being considered as a running mate for then-Vice President Kamala Harris. He was seen as a top choice, so people were shocked when Harris picked Minnesota Governor Tim Walz instead.
Shapiro’s book, Where We Keep the Light: Stories from a Life of Service, shows the tough questions he faced during the vetting process. Harris’s team asked him if he had ever “been a double agent for Israel.” This was a shocking question, especially because Shapiro is Jewish and his faith had already become a political issue.
As Democrats face internal divisions on various policy matters, questions about identity and loyalty have become more common in political vetting. Many left-leaning groups worried that Shapiro was too supportive of Israel. Democrats feared his selection would bring up controversial debates about the Gaza conflict and hurt Harris’s campaign.
Harris addressed this in her own memoir, 107 Days, released last year. She mentioned “the attacks [Shapiro had] confronted on Gaza and what effect it might have on the enthusiasm we were trying to build.” However, she also noted that Shapiro had criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Harris’s campaign also questioned Walz about his ties to China.
The biggest issue for Harris wasn’t Shapiro’s foreign policy views but his ambition. In her book, Harris said Shapiro kept asking her and her staff detailed questions about the vice president’s job, including specifics about the residence at the Naval Observatory.
She had “a nagging concern that [Shapiro] would be unable to settle for a role as number two and that it would wear on our partnership.” With Trump intensifying his criticism of Democratic officials, selecting the right running mate became even more critical for Harris.
Despite Trump’s warning and the obstacles during the VP selection, Shapiro is still viewed as a major contender for 2028 if he wins re-election in Pennsylvania in 2026. Even his own family has doubts about a national campaign right now.
Published: Jan 20, 2026 03:15 pm