Gov. Josh Shapiro is urging Berks County Democrats to turn their frustration with President Donald Trump into votes.
Shapiro, a Democrat seeking a second term as governor, made the case Saturday during an afternoon rally in Reading, the final stop on a three-city tour that also took him to Lewisburg and Lebanon.
Shapiro said the consequences of what he called the Trump administration’s “chaos and cruelty and corruption” are being felt by families across Pennsylvania.
“I know that you’re frustrated. I know that you’re angry, and I know that you’re worried about the world that we are in today,” Shapiro told those gathered at the Berks County Democratic Committee headquarters, 1251 N. Front St.
The governor pointed to tariffs, rising costs and federal changes to health care and food assistance as examples of Trump administration policies that are hurting Pennsylvanians.
He urged Democrats to respond by organizing, knocking on doors and voting for the party’s candidates up and down the ballot.
Shapiro said 18,000 Berks residents are in the process of losing health care coverage and about 8,000 are losing food assistance. He blamed congressional Republicans and the president for approving tax cuts that he said came at the expense of working families.
“That’s cruel, and we’re seeing the effect of that right here in our community,” he said.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks during a visit Saturday to the headquarters of the Berks County Democratic Committee, 1251 N. Front St. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Shapiro also attacked his Republican opponent, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, portraying her as closely aligned with Trump.
“I don’t think Donald Trump deserves a rubber stamp here in the governor’s office,” Shapiro said. “We need to stand up for freedom. We need to stand up for opportunity. We need to stand up for all Pennsylvanians, no matter what you look like or where you come from, who you love or who you pray to.”
Shapiro touted his first-term record, pointing to increased state funding for public education, investments in law enforcement and violence prevention, job growth and tax cuts.
More than 1,000 additional schools have mental health counselors, he said, and the state has invested in hiring 2,000 police officers and spending $1 billion on violence prevention initiatives.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro greets Reading City Counci President Donna Reed during a visit Saturday to the Berks County Democrats, 1251 N. Front St. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Shapiro reminded supporters of his electoral history in Berks.
“It is so good to be back in Reading, back in Berks County, a county that a lot of folks didn’t think we could win last time,” he said. “We won it last time. We’re going to win it again.”
Shapiro carried the county during his 2022 campaign for governor.
Saturday’s gathering also served as a call for Democratic volunteers to begin organizing ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
Berks County Democratic Committee Chair Debbie Noel thanked volunteers and emphasized the importance of door knocking, phone calls and conversations with neighbors.
“No campaign is won by one person or one individual alone or one candidate alone,” she said.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro reacts to a speech by state Rep. Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz during a visit Saturday to the Berks County Democrats, 1251 N. Front St. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Democratic state lawmakers Sen. Judy Schwank and Reps. Manuel Guzman and Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz also addressed the crowd.
Schwank praised Shapiro’s response to issues affecting Berks, saying she has watched him listen to residents and respond to their concerns.
“He really listens and he gets the work done,” she said.
Guzman urged Democrats to help elect candidates beyond Berks, while Cepeda-Freytiz challenged those in attendance to reach voters who might not otherwise be engaged in the election.
“Each one reach one,” Cepeda-Freytiz said. “This is about putting in the work. Talk is cheap.”
Jacob Socolar of Exeter Township holds up his daughter Isabele, 8, to see Gov. Josh Shapiro during a visit Saturday to the Berks County Democratic Committee, 1251 N. Front St. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Among those who came to hear Shapiro was Jacob Socolar of Exeter Township, who attended with his wife, Bethanne Bruninga-Socolar, and their daughter Isabelle, 8.
Socolar said racial and economic justice and environmental issues, particularly climate change, drew his family to the event.
“We’re here on the issues we care a lot about,” he said.
The family developed a personal connection to Shapiro’s campaign, he said, by hosting one of the governor’s campaign staffers working in the area.
“It’s been a really nice way to connect a bit more with the organizing community here,” he said.
Asked whether he plans to knock on doors himself, Socolar said he expects to do so.
“Absolutely,” he said. “It’s important to do.”
Supporters have a responsibility to protect American democracy, Shapiro said, invoking Benjamin Franklin’s warning that the fledgling nation is “a republic, if you can keep it.”
“This is our opportunity,” he said, “and as Pennsylvania Democrats, we are the epicenter of all of this.”