Shapiro takes DNC stage to rally party faithful for Harris: 'America, let's get to work'

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro took to the Democratic National Convention stage late Wednesday with a freedom-themed, primetime speech and warnings about a second Trump administration.

In a nearly 6-minute address in front of a cheering crowd in Chicago and millions more on TV, Shapiro echoed many of the same points he made earlier this month at Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s first rally together in Philadelphia.

Shapiro, who was considered a leading vice president nominee contender before Harris chose Walz, started with a Pennsylvania nod.

“Two-and-a-half centuries ago in Philadelphia, a band of patriots declared their independence from a king, and set ourselves on a path of self-determination. Generation after generation has embraced that responsibility,” he said. “Ordinary Americans, rising up, demanding more, seeking justice, and in every chapter of our American story, we’ve made progress and advanced the cause of freedom. Today, we find ourselves writing the next chapter.”

Shapiro then asked the audience if the nation will be “defined by chaos and extremism” or by “decency, honor and continued progress?”

Harris, he said, has championed progress while former President Donald Trump, “a man with no guardrails, wants to take away our rights and our freedoms.”

Trump “cloaks himself in the blanket of freedom,” but Shapiro warned that is not freedom to ban children from reading certain books, “tell women what they can do with their bodies,” and “say you can go vote, but he gets to pick the winner. That’s not freedom!”

Shapiro told his fellow Democrats that their party represents “real freedom,” such as providing great public schools, investing in police and communities, and allowing a child to grow up to “join a union, marry who she loves, start a family on her own terms, breathe clean air, drink pure water, worship how she wants and live a life of purpose where she is respected for who she is.”

Addressing the crowd, Shapiro said they now “have the power to shape the future of this country,” recalling ancestors who fought on battlefields and sat in at lunch counters.

He implored the audience to organize around three principles: “We value our freedom; we cherish our democracy, and we love this country!” A spontaneous chant of “USA, USA, USA” then broke out.

“E pluribus unum, out of many one, is not merely a motto from the past, it’s our direction for the future,” Shapiro said. “You see, you all give me hope and you all have the power.”

Shapiro ended by asking the crowd if they were ready to protect rights, secure freedoms and defend democracy by electing Harris and Walz.

“America,” he said, “let’s get to work!”