PoliticsPennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro Reveals Warning Donald Trump Issued During Bizarre Phone Call
Josh Shapiro sat down with the ladies of 'The View' on Tuesday, January 27.
Jan. 27 2026, Updated 4:11 p.m. ET
Josh Shapiro revealed Donald Trump warned him against running for president.
In a Tuesday, January 27, appearance on The View to promote his new book, Where We Keep the Light, Shapiro recalled how the 79-year-old POTUS issued the warning during a meandering phone call after the Pennsylvania governor's mansion was set on fire last spring.
The Democratic politician, 52, explained that while the call started normally with the president "checking in," Trump ended up telling Shapiro, "By the way, you shouldn't want to be president."
Donald Trump Told Josh Shapiro That Being President Is 'Very Dangerous'
Donald Trump told Josh Shapiro he shouldn't run for president.
Shapiro relayed that he told the president he wasn't "planning on running," to which which Trump replied, "Well, it's very dangerous. It's more dangerous than being a bull rider."
"I thought, how do you sort of know that, empirically?" Shapiro said, then adding, "He went through a whole thing." Notably, there were two attempts to assassinate Trump in 2024 before he returned to the White House for the second time.
Trump apparently also listed other Democratic presidential candidates during their chat, per the governor's book, though he didn't name who.
Josh Shapiro Gave an Ambiguous Answer to Whether He'd Ever Run for Office
There were two attempts on Donald Trump's life before he took office again in 2025.
Later, when co-host Sunny Hostin asked whether Shapiro would ever run for the Oval Office, he provided a vague response.
"I think no one should be looking past these midterms. We have to focus on reigning in the accesses, the chaos, the cruelty, the lawlessness of this administration," the former Pennsylvania Attorney General declared.
"I think we need a national referendum — not just in Pennsylvania, not just in swing districts, all across this country, people need to show up, they need to vote, and they need to send a clear message that this is not okay. That's all I'm focused on," he concluded.
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Josh Shapiro Said ICE Should Be 'Terminated Immediately'
Josh Shapiro called the ICE killings 'extremely disturbing.'
Elsewhere during the interview, Shapiro weighed in on the second fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis, Minn., describing it as "extremely disturbing."
"To me it is very clear that the mission... is a mission to violate people's constitutional rights, and it is clear that the mission needs to be terminated immediately," he said.
Democrats Are Condemning ICE After Two Fatal Shootings in One Month
Democrats are outraged by the recent shootings of two U.S. citizens by ICE agents.
A number of Democratic politicians have been criticizing ICE and the Trump administration in the wake of the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Some Democrats have even been calling for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign or be impeached as she continues to claim the ICE agents who used deadly force acted in self-defense, despite evidence to the contrary.
