Gov. Shapiro slams Oval Office's 'cherry picking' of recent political violence

Source: ABC News

September 16, 2025, 5:03 PM


Pennsylvania's Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday slammed the Oval Office and the "corners of the dark web" for what he described as "cherry picking" instances of recent political violence to condemn in the wake of the fatal shooting of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

In a speech at the Eradicate Hate Global Summit 2025 in Pittsburgh, an annual event borne out of the 2018 mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh that left 11 worshipers dead, Shapiro -- who along with his family were the victims of a politically-motivated firebombing in April at the governor's residence in Harrisburg -- said any type of political violence "is all wrong." He said that such selective condemnation of acts of political violence, as he described it, "only further divides us and makes it harder to heal."

"Unfortunately, some, from the dark corners of the internet all the way to the Oval Office, want to cherry-pick which instances of political violence they want to condemn," Shapiro said in his speech.

"There are some who will hear that selective condemnation and take it as a permission slip to commit more violence so long as it suits their narrative, only targets the other side," Shapiro added. "We cannot allow violence to be used as a pretext for more violence. We must reject the rhetoric of vengeance and instead focus, as you are today, on the work of healing."

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/gov-shapiro-slams-oval-office-cherry-picking-recent/story?id=125620793