Here is the full transcript of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s speech at Kamala Harris and Tim Walz first joint rally in Philadelphia on August 7, 2024.
Listen to the audio version here:
TRANSCRIPT:
Introduction and Gratitude
Thank you. Thank you. I love you, Philly. And you know what else I love? I love being your governor. Thank you very much. You all, you all fill my heart and I love you so much. Thank you.
And I want you to know, every single day I go to work for you, I put my shoulder to the wheel and I focus on three simple letters in our alphabet, G-S-D. I focus on getting shit done for all of you. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. And I want you to know, I am going to continue to pour my heart and soul into serving you every single day as your governor. And I’m going to be working my tail off to make sure we make Kamala Harris and Tim Walz the next leaders of the United States of America. That’s right.
That’s right. Let me tell you, let me tell you about my friend Kamala Harris, someone I’ve been friends with for two decades. She is courtroom tough. She has a big heart.
Praising Kamala Harris
And she is battle tested and ready to go. Whether in a courtroom, whether fighting as attorney general, whether remembering the people who have oftentimes been left behind when she was sitting in the halls of power in the Senate, Kamala Harris has always understood that you got to be every day for the people, for the people. And she has served with honesty. She has served with dignity.
And every step of the way, she’s broken barriers to serve all of us. Now, now, Philly, hear me on this. That’s a hell of a stark contrast from the guy running on the other side. Oh, y’all know who I’m talking about, I guess.
Criticizing Donald Trump
You see, we remember here in Philly what it was like when Donald Trump was our president. We remember when he was president, it was more chaos, fewer jobs, and less freedom. You see, Philly, I know y’all, we walk around with a little bit of a chip on our shoulder, because we remember, right? And we remember that it was Donald Trump that ripped away the freedom of millions of American women to make decisions over their own bodies.
We remember that. We remember that. We’re not going back. We are not going back.
Recalling Trump’s Presidency
And here’s the thing, we don’t want to go back, but let’s go back for a second just to remember. Let’s just remember, because I think there’s some folks out there that still have a little bit of brain fog remembering, having a hard time remembering what it was like. Now listen, he brought all that chaos and limited our freedoms back when he was president, and let’s be honest, didn’t know what the hell he was doing. He didn’t.
But this is serious, gang. He knows what he’s doing now. He does. And the Supreme Court that he passed, the Supreme Court that he has passed has ruled that he is above the law.
He is outside of the law. And now he’s got a clear plan. They all wrote it down in that whole Project 2025 thing. And they got a clear plan to take away more of our freedoms.
They got a clear plan to use the Justice Department to go against our enemies. They got a clear plan to isolate us in the world. And let me tell you something, I ain’t going back. I am not going back.
I’m not. And neither do you want to go back. We are not going back. We’re not going back. No. We’re not. And not only are we not going back, we’re not going into the future with Donald Trump, not going in the future with him. A guy who has made clear, he’s told us what he wants to do, more chaos, less freedom.
Criticizing J.D. Vance
And yo, friends, it was Maya Angelou who said it, “When they tell you who they are, I believe them,” and I don’t want to see that. And Donald Trump, well, he’s now got a partner with him. Y’all see that guy? Yeah.
J.D., man, he’s not exactly off to a good start. I think we can all agree on that. But I think part of the reason why he’s not off to a good start is this, and it’s serious. He doesn’t know who he is. And he’s not being honest with himself, so he can’t be honest with the American people. He can’t.
[He’s a weirdo! He’s a weirdo! He’s a weirdo! He’s a weirdo! He’s a weirdo! He’s a weirdo!]
Introducing Tim Walz
So, if I hear you right, and I think I do, you’re chanting, “He’s a weirdo.” Which means – man, I love you, Philly – which means, if you’re chanting, “He’s a weirdo,” then you heard of my good friend and our next vice president, Tim Walz. Because Tim Walz, in his beautiful, Midwestern, plain-spoken way, he summed up J.D. Vance the best. He’s a weirdo.
And I want to talk about Tim Walz, because, Philly, in a minute, he’s going to come out here, and I want you to give him a whole lot of love. Tim Walz is a great man. Tim Walz is an outstanding governor.
Tim Walz is a teacher. Tim Walz is a guardsman. Tim Walz is a great patriot. He is. He is. And I’ll tell you what else. I’ll tell you what else. Tim Walz is a dear friend.
Introducing Kamala Harris and Tim Walz
And I want you to know, Lori and I feel blessed to have Tim and Gwen in our lives.
They are outstanding public servants. And I can’t wait for you, Philly, the rest of this commonwealth, and our entire country to get the chance to know that Tim Walz is the next vice president and second lady of this nation. Now, I think it is fitting and it is special that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz have chosen to launch their campaign right here in Philadelphia, in the city of brotherly love and sisterly affection.
And importantly, they chose to launch their campaign right here in the birthplace of real freedom. You know, the other side, Trump and his sycophants, let me tell you something. They love to talk a good game about freedom, right? They love to cloak themselves in the blanket of freedom all the time.
Defining Real Freedom
They love to talk a good game. But hear me on this. It’s not freedom to tell our children what books they’re allowed to read. That’s not freedom. It’s not. It’s not. It’s not freedom to say you can go to work but you can’t join a union. That’s not freedom.
It’s not freedom to tell women what they’re allowed to do with their bodies. That’s not freedom. It’s not. It’s not. It is not. No, it’s not. It is not. And it won’t be that way when Kamala Harris is our president.
And it sure as hell isn’t freedom to say you can go vote but he’s going to pick the winner. That is not freedom. That’s not what patriots have fought for over the years. It is not. You know what we are for? You know what Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are for? They are for real freedom. They are.
Investing in Education and Safety
The kind of real freedom that comes when we look that young girl in North Philly in the eye and we invest in her public school because we believe in her. We believe in real freedom. The kind of freedom that comes when we invest in our police and we invest in our communities because we believe that young girl should walk to and from school safely and back to her mama at the end of the night. We believe in real freedom where the young girl can grow up and be whatever she wants.
She can be a welder. She can go to college. She can be who she is. That is real freedom and that is what we are fighting for.
Environmental Protection and Personal Freedom
We believe in the kind of real freedom where she grows up in a community where she can breathe clean air and drink clean water and know that she will leave an environment to the next generation that is great for her kids and her grandkids.
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz believe in a real freedom where you can marry who you love and be who you are. Now, freedom, freedom is on the ballot and our fundamental freedoms are at risk. And I know, I know when it’s at risk it’s easy to feel uneasy and it’s easy to get down.
Optimism for the Future
But let me tell you something, Philly. Let me tell you something, Pennsylvania. Let me tell you something, America. I am more optimistic than ever before.
And the reason, the reason I’m more optimistic than ever before is because of all of you and because of what a band of patriots started here in our taverns, in our town squares and at Independence Hall just a couple miles, a couple miles from here and a half centuries ago. You see, they came together. They came together to declare our independence from a king and we’re not going back to a king. And we’re not going back.
We’re not going back. And when they declared that independence from a king, they came together and they said, we are going to form a union. And over the last 248 years, the reason why I’m optimistic, the reason why I’m hopeful is because as we’ve written this American story over the last two and a half centuries, it’s been ordinary Americans taking up the baton from those patriots and saying we’re going to do extraordinary things. Octavius Catto understood that responsibility.
Cecil B. Moore understood that responsibility. Gen Z, when they’re organized and on TikTok, understand that responsibility. And I’m optimistic today because the task of perfecting our union, the task of defending our fundamental freedoms, it now falls to all of you, to freedom-loving Americans all across this great country and to the good people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who will decide this next election and understand our unique responsibility.
Call to Action
I love you too. And this is a moment where we all have to understand that while we’ll see Kamala Harris and Tim Walz’s names on the ballot, that this election isn’t just about their names on this ballot, this election is about all of you and whether or not you’re willing to do this hard work to fight for our freedom, whether or not you’re willing to do this hard work that started here 248 years ago. I want to just say this. I lean on my family and I lean on my faith which calls me to serve.
And I am proud of my faith. Now, now hear me. I’m not here to preach at y’all, but I want to tell you what my faith teaches me. My faith teaches me that no one, no one is required to complete the task, but neither are we free to refrain from it.
Responsibility and Unity
That means, that means that each of us has a responsibility to get off the sidelines, to get in the game and to do our part. Are you ready to do your part? Are you ready to form a more perfect union? Are you ready to build an America where no matter what you look like, where you come from, who you love or who you pray to, that this will be a place for you?
And are you ready to look the next president of the United States in the eyes and say, hello, madam president? I am too, so let’s get to work.
