Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race

Governor Josh Shapiro joins the conversation for a wide-ranging discussion on growth, bureaucracy, political institutions, economic opportunity, and what competent government looks like in practice.

Key points

• Shapiro’s governing brand is execution. He repeatedly frames his approach around “GSD” — get stuff done — pointing to tax cuts, job growth, lower unemployment, faster permitting, workforce investment, and declining crime.

• Permitting became a test of whether government can move at business speed. Pennsylvania went from bottom-five permitting performance to what Shapiro calls top-five speed, with a money-back guarantee if deadlines are missed and only five refunds after millions of permits.

• Small bureaucratic delays create real economic losses. A barber license that once took 20 days can now be issued the same day; at roughly 10 cuts × $20 per day, that delay represented thousands of dollars in lost income.

• His economic model mixes growth with redistribution rather than choosing one camp. Shapiro supports lower taxes and business formation, but also worker tax credits, public investment, and what he calls a fair contribution from higher earners.

• Credentials should not become artificial barriers to opportunity. He removed college-degree requirements from most state jobs, says around 60% of hires now lack degrees, and expanded vocational education and apprenticeships for a population where 62% of adults do not hold degrees.

• Housing is treated as both a supply and regulatory problem. Shapiro wants a $1 billion housing fund, but also emphasizes repairing old housing stock and removing red tape so new homes can be built faster.

• Coalitions work by focusing on overlap rather than purity. His practical model is to compare ten priorities with an opponent’s ten and work on the three or four they share, whether in legislating, governing, or building electoral majorities.

• Institutions depend on both formal checks and personal restraint. In discussing Congress, pardons, corruption, Israel, and antisemitism, Shapiro argues that systems weaken when leaders surrender independent judgment or apply standards only to political opponents.

The central idea

Competence becomes powerful when institutions reduce friction without abandoning accountability.

Across economics, bureaucracy, education, housing, and politics, Shapiro’s argument is consistent: systems earn trust when they produce visible results, create opportunity, and still preserve rules, checks, and responsibility.