Shapiro, Democrats blast Trump for ‘taking innocent lives’ even as Iran ceasefire takes hold
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Wednesday called the U.S.-Iran conflict a “war of choice” and questioned whether President Trump had accomplished anything meaningful even after the two sides agreed to a two-week ceasefire.
“The president is going to do everything in his power today to manipulate us and tell us different stories and make up a whole bunch of stuff,” Mr. Shapiro said during a fireside chat with the Rev. Al Sharpton in New York. “If you don’t know why you got in, you certainly don’t know when it’s time to get out or how to get out. He has destroyed many innocent lives.”
The Sharpton event also serves as an early hearing for likely Democratic candidates in 2028. Former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona and governors. JB Pritzker of Illinois, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Wes Moore of Maryland are expected to appear.
The four-day gathering opened a day after Mr. Trump announced the ceasefire, hours before a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face further strikes. The deal suspends U.S. and Israeli bombing and reopens the strait for two weeks while negotiations continue.
Before that, Democrats eyeing 2028 blasted Mr. Trump’s decision to launch joint strikes with Israel, accusing him of trampling on Congress’ war powers and breaking his promise to avoid further foreign entanglements. They said money spent on an “unnecessary” war should go to struggling American families.
Democrats are well aware that two of the leading contenders for the Republican Party nomination in 2028 – Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio – will struggle to distance themselves from the war and its aftermath.
Patrick Griffin, a Republican strategist, said Democrats had found a powerful line of attack in turning Mr. Trump’s anti-interventionist rhetoric against him, but warned that it might not last.
“The worst thing you can do in politics is be a hypocrite,” Mr. Griffin said. “When you can flip the script on someone who is hypocritical and hurting you from a political standpoint, it’s even more effective.”
Yet, he said, “nothing has worked against Trump yet. The Democrats have found neither a silver bullet nor a silver bullet.”
Some Democrats have taken a harder line than others.
Mr. Pritzker and Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ro Khanna of California say Mr. Trump is unfit to serve and should be removed from office.
“Let’s be honest, there is something seriously wrong with this man, and the 25th Amendment needs to be invoked before it’s too late,” Mr. Pritzker said in a video posted on social media on Wednesday.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said Tuesday that Mr. Trump was endangering “the security and stability of the United States.”
“Whether by his Cabinet or by Congress, the president must be removed from office,” she said. “We are playing with the edge of the abyss.”
Ms. Harris, the party’s candidate for 2024, was more measured.
Before the ceasefire announcement, she said Mr. Trump had started a “disastrous war” with “no plan or strategy to end it.”
“Trump’s recklessness is needlessly endangering our brave service members,” she said. “We must all stand up to this and oppose the funding of this illegal war of choice. »
California Governor Gavin Newsom said Mr. Trump “repeatedly made a promise to the American people: no new wars” and “now he is threatening to wipe out an entire civilization.”
On Wednesday, Mr. Shapiro focused on the administration’s stated goals. He said Mr. Trump had failed to demonstrate conclusively that Iran’s nuclear program had been destroyed and questioned whether replacing what he called a “90-year-old dictator” with a younger one constituted progress.
“This is just the latest example of the kind of chaos Donald Trump brings to everything he touches,” he said.
Regarding the Strait of Hormuz, he said Iranian coordination under the ceasefire undermined the rationale for keeping energy prices under control.
“The Strait of Hormuz, which was once open, which was one of the main reasons we could keep gas prices low, is now controlled in one way or another by the Iranians,” he said. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“The way the president of the United States has done it, I think, makes us less safe, not safer,” he said.
Democratic criticism has increased since late February, when Mr. Trump ordered American forces to join Israel in coordinated strikes against Iran’s nuclear and missile infrastructure.
Mr. Griffin, meanwhile, said Democrats could still undermine their own cause. “They’re going to overplay their hand, which they always do,” he said. “They will lose the very deal they could have gained ground with.”
