Gov. Josh Shapiro brings ‘real freedom’ message to the DNC

Echoing themes from the inaugural address he gave outside the Pennsylvania Capitol last year, Gov. Josh Shapiro brought his message of “real freedom” to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Wednesday night, where he urged Democrats to “do the hard work” necessary to elect Vice President Kamala Harris as the country’s first female president this November. In a speech that lasted approximately six minutes, Shapiro cast an immediate contrast between Harris and Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump. 

“Kamala Harris, while she has spent her entire career making progress, Donald Trump, a man with no guardrails, wants to take away our rights and our freedoms. Listen, while he cloaks himself in the blanket of freedom, what he's offering isn't freedom at all,” Shapiro said. “Hear me on this, it's not freedom to tell our children what books they're allowed to read. No, it's not – and it's not freedom to tell women what they can do with their bodies. And hear me on this, it sure as hell isn't freedom to say you can go vote, but he gets to pick the winner. That's not freedom.”

Shapiro went on to say that Democrats are the political party that exemplifies “real freedom,” adding: “We are the party of real freedom, the kind of real freedom that comes when that child has a great public school with an awesome teacher because we believe in her future. Real freedom – real freedom that comes when we invest in the police and in the community so that child can walk to and from school and get home safely to her mom,” he said. “Real freedom comes when she can look at Madam President and know that this is a nation where anything and everything is possible. That is real freedom, and that is what we are fighting for.”

Shapiro, who was one of several Democrats on Harris’ shortlist to be her vice presidential nominee, was vetted for the role but ultimately passed over in favor of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Shapiro has kept busy throughout the convention, attending a Pennsylvania delegation breakfast on Monday, an event with South Carolina delegates on Tuesday and speaking to the New Hampshire delegation on Wednesday prior to his primetime speech. 

The governor said that November represents more than just a chance to elect Democrats to the executive branch in Washington, D.C., stressing that rights and freedoms hang in the balance.

“It's our rights, it's our future and freedoms that are on the line, and you have the power to shape the future of this country,” he told attendees at Chicago’s United Center. “Let's do the hard work necessary to win this election and write the next chapter in our American story.”