Higher Learning with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay - A Real Conversation With Gov. Josh Shapiro

Episode Date: March 14, 2026

Van and Rachel welcome Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to discuss his memoir, ‘Where We Keep the Light,’ working across the aisle in the MAGA age, and community policing. Plus, addressing the r...ise in anti-semitism and approaching division on the Israel-Gaza conflict. (0:00) Intro (03:32) ‘Where We Keep the Light’ (08:58) Are we better than this? (16:22) Crime and policing (29:37) An NBA tangent (32:26) Relationship with Meek Mill (38:07) “Too bad a Jew can’t be president” (46:03) Israel and the war in Gaza Hosts: Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay Guest: Gov. Josh Shapiro Producers: Donnie Beacham Jr. and Jade Whaley Social Producer: Bernard Moore Video Supervision: Chris Thomas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 My kids told me I couldn't wear all black sneaks. Why? They were like, you dad, you look weird and black. You got to wear white. Now, you're cooler than I am. Nah, man, these are Hokas. I'm wearing these. I'm wearing these shoes.
Starting point is 00:00:20 I have Achilles to tonight. You're like a suburban dad. I am. I have Achilles to the night. Let's come back to sneakers and roll it. Like, man, I was in the, I was in the hoka store. And I'm like, yeah, I looked around. And there was a, a.
Starting point is 00:00:38 twinge of hesitancy. Like, are you at this point in your life? And I'm like, yeah. Clearly you are, man. I just left the podiatrist. I got some custom orthotics, the whole nine. You got through orthotics in there, too? I got orthotics in there as well. What do you put in there? So I need to put something in my Jordan, so it'll be a little more comfortable. So, yeah, so I went to Runner's World in Brentwood and they made a custom mold orthotic for me. Oh, you're all in on. Yeah, like my, I just my Achilles, they're intact, but they were bothering me. I'm old, man. I'm an older guy. I know. You're still ball. Still play.
Starting point is 00:01:08 Still play. Still box. Still out there. Still getting buckets. Do you still play basketball? A little bit. There's some skeptic. Rachel's a little skeptical.
Starting point is 00:01:16 Because he posts his videos, right? So he's definitely posting the boxing. You're in there. I post a boxing yet. Say hi. Yeah, I post the boxing. Rachel is skeptical of anything that I've ever accomplished. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:01:28 But by the way, now when you play, you feel your Achilles holding on by just like like dental flaws. You go to the basket. You be like, where's the rim? I'm not at the rim. that was happening. The rim used to get there quicker. And now I'm driving and I'm still looking
Starting point is 00:01:42 and there's some young kid like, go up old school. When I heard the old school thing, that was tough. It pisses you off, right? So when I played in high school, I played a little bit in college, so I got cut from the team as I write about in the book.
Starting point is 00:01:54 Saw it in the book. Like the game was really slow to me. So I was able to kind of see a play before it happened, get the ball where it needed to be. Like a read. But I was quick. Now the game is still slow to me, but I'm slow as shit now,
Starting point is 00:02:08 and so I can't keep up with these guys. And now my kids are at the age where they beat me up on the court. That's what's supposed to happen. It's supposed to turn it over to. There's no respect. The voice that you guys are hearing, as we already have started the podcast,
Starting point is 00:02:20 is the voice of Pennsylvania governor, Josh Shapiro, who joins us on Higher Learning Today. Everybody, give it up for the governor. Thanks, God. Good to be with you. Now, before we have this conversation, I want to ask you a question. As I've watched your career,
Starting point is 00:02:35 sort of blossom and developed. I've heard the name. Charlemagne's like, you got to talk to Josh Shapiro, Van Josh Shapiro. So, yeah. Can we have a real conversation today? I hope so. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:02:48 Otherwise, I wouldn't be here. There you go. I'm hoping to have a real conversation with you as well because I think that- But it's a two-way street. Of course. If you're asking me to be thoughtful, we have to have a thoughtful conversation both ways.
Starting point is 00:02:59 We will do that. Just use buzzwords, but actually have a thoughtful, in-depth conversation. We guarantee you that anything that we ask moving forward comes from our genuine desire to know you better and to connect better with our audience. Great. Okay.
Starting point is 00:03:13 First question, the book, Rachel, hold the book up. Thank you, Rachel. Okay, because I don't have mine, where we keep the light. Hold up that New York Times bestseller list book. Best seller right there. Things that Van and I are aspiring to be. Right, right.
Starting point is 00:03:32 We tried. This book is a very inspirational read. and I read it. It also, just to be honest, it's a great read, but it comes across as the type of inspirational book that one writes, like the audacity of hope or something else,
Starting point is 00:03:48 when they're hoping to reach a broader audience and make a run for a higher office. Is that any part of the calculus in the book? Part of what you said is true. Part of what you said is not. Okay. And first of all, I would never put myself in the same category as Barack Obama.
Starting point is 00:04:01 In this book, I'd never put in the category of audacity of hope. I think that was an extraordinary book. It is. He's an extraordinary man. I feel blessed to have him in my life and to consider him a friend. I started to write this book because I saw a great disconnect between the people I was meeting along the way, the people who were doing good stuff in their community, the people who
Starting point is 00:04:25 were shining a lot of light, as I talked about in the book, and the politicians who quite frankly weren't reflecting the goodness of the people who I was visiting with every day. And so I wanted to write a book about the goodness I saw every day, the light I saw, and maybe that would be an opportunity to repair our politics. Right, if the politicians started taking their cues from the people, as opposed to the politics
Starting point is 00:04:51 just kind of defining in a negative way the people. The second thing I set out to do was to frankly be more open about myself. I think it's important when someone someone's leading, particularly in a job like governor, mayor, write these executive roles for people to know who you are and what motivates you. And I wanted to be really open about how my family and my faith
Starting point is 00:05:13 motivate me to serve and how by being open to these people I meet along the way, it's allowed me to learn more about my own self, my own faith, and find myself more connected to them. Now, it is true, I wanted to share that. I wanted to be more out there. I wanted to be more honest with, not honest, but like more open with folks about myself. I did not write this book to try and, you know,
Starting point is 00:05:39 think about running for something else or for political reasons. There's some folks who would argue that it's probably not smart politically by being open about my faith at a time where, you know, that's not maybe the most popular thing. But I wanted to be true to who I am. I wanted to make sure folks knew who I am. In the middle of writing this book, this book about light, darkness came on my family and I when we were attacked in our home and this person tried to
Starting point is 00:06:07 kill me and kill my family and through that I saw even greater light from people people of all different faiths all different walks of life came together to lift up me and my family in prayer with support and so many other things and so even though that ended up being the first chapter it was obviously not something I contemplated when I began writing this book so look I get if you want to keep it for real like I get that people view it cynically anytime a politician writes a book. To me, this was a way for me to connect deeper, certainly with the people of Pennsylvania who I represent,
Starting point is 00:06:39 and yeah, with a broader audience, with more people to understand what motivates me to serve and hopefully attract other, you know, good people into service. I also think that the book is so relevant right now just because of where we are as a society, just in the world, and it feels like we can't see the light. So I'm wondering for you, and maybe you thought about this too, as you were writing, I mean, things seem to be worse now.
Starting point is 00:07:01 But when you look at America, where do you see the light right now? From the people, not the politicians. And are you talking on the, because you kind of touched on this too, on a national level? Or are you talking on a national politics? I am. I mean, look, the elephant in the room, of course, is the president, who I think, and I'm not here to be political. I just want to be responsive to your question. I think he brings chaos and cruelty and corruption into our world every day.
Starting point is 00:07:30 I've got four kids 24, 21, 17, 15. And their entire frame of reference on politics, taking their dad out of it, has been shaped by Donald Trump. And that chaos, cruelty, and corruption over the last decade. My theory of the case, which I express in this book, is we're better than that. and the people do better than he does every day. And I want us to be defined by the people, not by the corrosive politics that we're experiencing every day. I also, you know, I've shared a lot about how I'm the only governor in the country,
Starting point is 00:08:07 from, by the way, the swingiest state in the country. Actually, it's not true. I was the only one. There's now one other with a divided legislature. So I got Republicans who lead the Senate by two votes and Democrats who lead the House by one vote. So for me to get anything done, we've got to bring Democrats and Republicans together. And by the way, we do really successful. I'm happy to get into it during the show in terms of what we've done. So I share that with you because I think we're showing in Pennsylvania,
Starting point is 00:08:34 we can actually find ways to come together and get shit done. Whereas at the national level, it's just corrosive, it's toxic, it's negative. And I would hope that our national politics can be fixed by some of the stories I share of the good people in this book in politics. listening to them, not finding the sort of incentives on the edges of our politics that to oftentimes define our world. For adults with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms, every choice matters. Trimphia offers self-injection or intravenous infusion from the start. Tramphia is administered as injections under the skin or infusions through a vein every
Starting point is 00:09:15 four weeks, followed by injections under the skin every four or eight weeks. If your doctor decides that you can self-inject Trimphia, proper training is required. Tramphia is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease and adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. Serious allergic reactions, increased risk of infections or lower ability to fight them, and liver problems may occur. Before treatment, get checked for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, or need a vaccine.
Starting point is 00:09:46 Explore what's possible. Ask your doctor about Tramfaya today. Call 1-800-526-7736 to learn more or visit Tramphiatoradio.com. The playoffs are here and you can predict the action all the way to the finals with Fandul Predict. Predict the spread, total points, and even the game winner. Sign up and get a $25 bonus. Offered by Fandul Prediction Markets LLC, a registered futures commission merchant, 18 plus. Bonus is non-withdrawable and expires seven days after receipt.
Starting point is 00:10:17 Trading derivatives involve significant risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Manage your activity with our consumer protection tool. Restrictions apply. See terms at vanduel.com slash predict slash bonus dash offer dash terms. It's interesting the belief in people. I consider myself, we consider ourselves to be humanists on this podcast and it shapes a lot of the ways that we have conversations. The frustration that people feel when you say that we are better than this.
Starting point is 00:10:42 Yeah. But we, the we, some version of the we, voted for mass deportations, voted for ICE on the streets, maybe didn't vote for this version of it, but voted for what looks like, to me, a fascist is a fascist xenophobic administration. It doesn't sometimes feel like we're better. I think that's a tension that a lot of Americans feel sometimes about asking the question of how good we actually are. When you see that goodness and you say that we're better, what makes you say that? Because I think it's kind of a false frame, and I'm in that with the utmost respect, to suggest that because people chose Donald Trump over Kamala Harris, they voted for the unconstitutional, unlawful, dangerous, destructive approach to immigration that we just saw in Minneapolis.
Starting point is 00:11:42 By the way, they voted to secure the border. I support that. I want the border secured. They did not vote for these extremist policies. By the way, they didn't vote for all these different wars and engagements that the president is in overseas. I'm sure we'll get into that. Certainly.
Starting point is 00:11:57 They did not vote to have their prices go way up because Donald Trump pressed a button and started a fucking tariff war and began to jack up prices at the grocery store, at the fuel pump. When you buy something on Amazon, your hocus costs more now because of his tariffs. And so they didn't vote for what Donald Trump is delivering. So I don't buy that.
Starting point is 00:12:18 He won the election. I think people were frustrated with their direction, the things were going under President Biden. I'll do respect him. I think they were frustrated by the way the process kind of played out within our party. I wish they wouldn't have chosen Donald Trump. I worked my tail off to have them, at least in Pennsylvania, try and choose Kamala Harris. It didn't go that way. but I don't think people voted for the kind of chaos
Starting point is 00:12:45 and cruelty that we're seeing all across the country right now. But didn't they vote for a brand? And by the way, this is not in any way to straight up indict the voters. You have to make your case to the voters and get them right. I have great respect for the voters. I think Donald Trump, pardon me,
Starting point is 00:12:59 sure. I think Donald Trump pulled the wool over their eyes. But they voted for a specific brand of political ugliness post-January 6th. They voted for a demonizing of the people they share their communities with who are undocumented. many people. There is, some would say, there is a version of political evil that Trumpism and
Starting point is 00:13:21 magnetism represents. Do you think that's true or no? I think Donald Trump represents a unique kind of evil and chaos and cruelty. I do. And I think you're seeing it play out every day across America where America is more dangerous, where things cost more, fewer people have access to health care. There's greater instability across the world, all because of Donald Trump. And I think he is creating others in our society. He points out a particular group and attacks them, sets them aside, pits Americans against one another. I think that makes us less safe. And I think that's bad, not just for our politics. I think it's bad for society. It goes back to what I said before. My kids have grown up with this frame that it's not about loving your neighbor, which are, you know,
Starting point is 00:14:07 kind of, I think a through line through all of our faiths, all of our religions that you should love thy neighbor. He's tearing up that playbook and instead going after our fellow Americans. And I think that that's really, really dangerous and toxic. Like reading your book, it's really great seeing what you've done and how dedicated you are to the state of Pennsylvania, even turning down the opportunity to run for Senate
Starting point is 00:14:32 because you were doing such good work and you wanted to continue to see the work. And you have this conversation, read the book, I don't want to give too much, but you have this conversation about how it would take a longer time. When you talk about, I mean, you pride yourself and rightfully so you've done it in the state
Starting point is 00:14:48 of being able to work across the aisle and to work, bring people together in the name of the people, even if you might differ on certain things. I'm wondering, how does one replicate that, what you've been able to do in the state of Pennsylvania by bringing those diverse viewpoints and common ground together, on a national level,
Starting point is 00:15:08 because it's easy to say, you know, it's the people and we believe in that, but how do you make that happen in a bigger way? So first of all, I'm doing it in the toughest state in the country to get elected in and then to govern it. I mean, we're as divided, politically divided as it comes, right? I got one Democratic, US Senator, one Republican,
Starting point is 00:15:29 I got a split congressional delegation. I think I mentioned- You got two Republican senators. Peace. You got two Republicans. He'll come on your show and answer your questions. I'm not going to. And, you know, at least in terms of what the registration is next to their name.
Starting point is 00:15:44 Right. And I got, I think I mentioned this before, 253 state lawmakers, the entire difference between those 253 is three seats. Right. So just to give you a sense of that, what I try to do is sit down with the Republican leaders and say, hey, look, what are the 10 things you want to do? I'll tell you the 10 things I want to do. And then inevitably, yeah, there's going to be four, five, six, seven, you're not going to agree on. But there might be three or four, or five that you do agree on. That's where you have to hit the pause button. Because in my state, the approach I take is, all right, I'm not going to obsess about the
Starting point is 00:16:19 things we disagree on. I'm still going to advocate for them. I'm still going to believe in them. I'm still going to speak out on them. But I'm not going to let that stop progress on the four or five things we do agree on. And we work hard to hammer it out. At the national level, they seem to only want to focus on the things that they do. disagree on. And I think that there is an incentive structure in our media and in the fundraising
Starting point is 00:16:43 that they do at the national level that forces you not to compromise and come together, but actually to run to the extremes and just differ. You think about it. If I go out and tweet something about how I worked with Democrats and Republicans to accomplish this and the other thing, assuming, by the way, it's something that people in my state won, is that going to get more likes on social media than, you know, that person's a jerk and I'm going to fight with them and this that? No, you know it's going to get more likes. You know it's going to raise more money. And so I think we've got this incentive structure that forces people to the extremes. When at the end of the day, what people really want is if you're occupying a position of trust,
Starting point is 00:17:21 usually make their lives just a little bit better, right? Fix their kids' school, make their streets a little safer, make sure there's a job in the community they love, protect their freedoms and kind of stay out of their business in terms of the decisions they want to make over their own bodies or with their families or for their kids. That's common sense stuff, but it's not incentivized in our politics today. It's working in Pennsylvania. It should be working at the national level. And, you know, I'm going to do everything I can to make this, you know, an example to others that we can repair our politics.
Starting point is 00:17:52 That we can do some good. An underreported story right now is places all over the country where a crime is dropping. I've made the statement here that it's difficult for the president. to take credit for a dropping crime because he needs to position a lot of blue cities as Gotham City and himself as Batman. And if there's no need for a Batman, if, you know, local mayors and local governments, guys like Brandon Scott all over the place, if Baltimore, they're actually, you know, having success. Pennsylvania is one of those places where crime has been dropping, particularly in. in Philly, which got one of the worst Gotham City reputations over the last couple of years.
Starting point is 00:18:42 How and why is this happening? Well, first off, Mayor Parker's done a great job in Philly. She's a good buddy of mine, and we've been allies and friends for 20 plus years. Let me explain, I fundamentally believe, if you do not have a safe community, no one wants to live there, kids are afraid to go out and play, businesses aren't gonna locate there. It's kind of the foundational thing.
Starting point is 00:19:04 You gotta be safe in your community. So when I set out, first I was Attorney General, now running for governor, I made clear safety was going to be top of the list, that we were going to hire 2,000 more police officers across the state, and we were going to invest about a half a billion dollars in violence prevention organizations. Think like your local church group, the rec groups, particularly things that are groups that are working with young people to keep them working, you know, on the right path. As a result of those investments, the 2,000 cops, the half billion, you know, the people,
Starting point is 00:19:36 in violence prevention. We have cut violent crime by 13% in Pennsylvania across the state, and fatal gun violence is down 43%. A large reason for that is the investments. Another reason for, which, by the way, the federal government has tried to pull away the federal dollars. I've had to sue them to get our money back and successfully. And the second reason why is we've worked really, really hard
Starting point is 00:20:02 to build trust between the community and the police. to make sure our police look like the communities that they are sworn to serve and protect, that we put a lot more money into training. By the way, when a police officer does something wrong, we hold them accountable as well. The community needs to see that. I think the most important tool for law enforcement,
Starting point is 00:20:21 not a gun or a badge or radio, it's trust. If the community sees you as being a trustworthy steward of their safety, they're going to respond well to that. What you saw with the president in Minneapolis, And by the way, what you saw here in L.A., I don't want to pine on California as much. I don't know as much as the mayor here or the governor or what have you, but you've seen it in L.A., you've seen it in Chicago, you've seen it in Portland, federal troops being dispatched then immediately erode that trust and make things less safe, make things more on edge.
Starting point is 00:20:55 So to me, it's about investment. It's about building trust. It's about making sure the community feels like those who were sworn to serve and protect you actually are doing that work. And that is why I think we've been able to reduce crime. We have worked in our state with our local mayors, including Mayor Parker and Philadelphia, to make sure that we are complementing the work they do. Our law enforcement teams meet regularly, talk on a daily basis.
Starting point is 00:21:21 We share resources. We share intel. We combine on different efforts, so one plus one kind of equals three. Whether it's huge events like what we're hosting across Pennsylvania for USA 250, or whether it's just the daily work to keep our, street safe. I know how fundamental and foundational that is and we're making that happen in Pennsylvania. Adding cops to the street, a lot of our listeners are going to hear, you're on kind of a lefty podcast. They probably won't like that. They'll add in cops to the street, a lot of our listeners. You asked me to have an honest, thoughtful conversation. And that's what we're going to do.
Starting point is 00:21:53 So when we talk about adding police to the streets, number one, or increasing police budgets, how do we make sure that these police are properly trained in the right cops, as you said? How How do we make sure that taxpayer money isn't going to police drones, police robots, like a militarized police force that is hardened against a neighborhood? How do we mitigate the effects that over-policing can have on a community while adding 2,000 more cops to the street? So I can speak about the Pennsylvania State Police and how we do it. But I want to just say, and I get there's some people maybe watching who are kind of
Starting point is 00:22:31 scratch in their head and maybe not liking what I'm saying, but let me tell you some. The plans that we devised in Pennsylvania that are working came from me listening to the community. Not just showing up at a protest, but actually showing up in the neighborhoods that a lot of those protests walk through and don't spend the time listening to the people in the communities.
Starting point is 00:22:49 You listen to the people in the communities, they wanna be safe, right? Interesting indictment of the protesters right there that are from those communities. No, no, hear me on this. When those protests walk through a community, right? I think, by the way, Righteously protesting.
Starting point is 00:23:05 They have every right to do that. And I support people doing that. But I think it is important that while you're doing that, you stop and listen to the communities that are really affected by the policies. If I was inartful and how I said that, I apologize. But that is what I'm trying to convey. When I talk to people in the neighborhoods and they'll say to me, listen, we want our streets to be safe.
Starting point is 00:23:27 We want more police. We don't want them pulling over our son just because of the color of his skin, but we want to make sure that if someone's bringing a gun, someone's bringing a knife, someone's, you know, creating problems, that that's going to be dealt with in a responsible way. I listen to the communities all across our state. I've responded to that.
Starting point is 00:23:45 And I think as a result of us bringing a crime down, you're seeing our economy grow, you're seeing more kids showing up for school, you're seeing our education system improve. I think it's foundational the work we do. Yeah, a lot of times we're going to talk about that. If you ask my mother and my grandmother, they're not going to say that.
Starting point is 00:24:01 Okay. We like, you know what I mean? We can argue about it. No, no, no, no, no. I'm saying no, if you ask my mother and my grandmother, they're going to be like, we need the police around here. We will say. Yeah, they will say that.
Starting point is 00:24:10 Yeah, we talked about that on the podcast as well. This is a generation. No, no, no, if you ask my mother and my grandmother, they're going to be like, no, we need some cops around here. It's an interesting tension that exists sometimes. And it is somewhat generational. It is somewhat generational.
Starting point is 00:24:23 But at the same time, I think that conversation has to keep evolving because sometimes it feels like more police means more police culture and that just has not worked out for a lot of black and black and black. Police thing, which is what we talk about, it's like how do you use your police force? Like you talked about the community
Starting point is 00:24:41 with churches. Like I think when you see that kind of see the police actively working with it or working with mental health or social programs, like that is what I say policing where it's in a positive way. I think you're right. I don't think I've fully answered
Starting point is 00:24:57 your question though about kind of the state police and how we've approached it. Certainly. I was a little an artful when I said before, and I went back and then I never got to the point of the heart of your question. We have invested an extraordinary amount of money, not just in the bodies that we put out there, but in the training that those new police officers get. We're building a new academy to make sure that they are getting that state of the art training. We invest in bringing the police into working with the community on violence prevention initiatives. We invest in trying to get police officers out of their cars, walking.
Starting point is 00:25:31 the beat so they get to know their neighbors. I think all that stuff is really, really important to create a culture that is not, what do you call it, sort of over-policing, but instead a culture of trust and of building that faith with the neighbors. And look, the data shows it's working. We've got a lot more work to do.
Starting point is 00:25:50 And we've got to continue to focus, not just on the data of crime coming down, but making sure that trust quotient goes up. Talking about trust, I mean, I would think a lot of voters either, I mean, there are a lot that feel disenfranchised, maybe feel politically homeless, have a distrust for the system. And I think a lot of that plays into messaging, right? Like, I'm sitting here talking to you. I'm hearing you. I feel connected to what you're saying.
Starting point is 00:26:15 I read the book. I'm understanding it, whether I agree or disagree. I understand it. I hear you. A lot of times that messaging, like what you're doing in Pennsylvania or on a national level, gets lost in social media, people only reading a quick headline in the podcast. and in the way that it comes out, and then they feel disconnected, or they just get it wrong, or they don't see what's happening. And you're doing the work in Pennsylvania,
Starting point is 00:26:39 as we talk about. But for some reason, on a national level, it doesn't seem like this in Pennsylvania. People don't feel it, particularly in the Democratic Party. They don't feel it. How do you, as a politician, combat that?
Starting point is 00:26:53 How do you combat social media? How do you combat people who have a distrust in it? You've been successful with it in Pennsylvania. you've seen the results, but on a national level, how do you fix that? It's hard. Yeah, it feels impossible. You know, I can give you an answer as a governor,
Starting point is 00:27:12 but let me start by giving me an answer just as a dad, right? I'm a dad to four kids who consume, I would say, damn near 100% of their news on social media, where it's being fed to them as opposed to them going out to eat, right? and I am constantly saying to my kids, hey, where did you see that? Have you kind of tried to source that somewhere else? Are you sure it's true?
Starting point is 00:27:39 Not arguing, hey, I disagree with your view or whatever. I want my kids to disagree with me. I want them to form their own opinions. That's a good thing. But trying to teach them to be good digital citizens where they actually go a little bit deeper, do a little bit of research, learn a little bit more so they can form those thoughtful opinions.
Starting point is 00:27:56 Because to your point, it's just usually a headline that triggers something, and then that's what they think. So that's a struggle, Lori and I have just as parents every day trying to help our kids learn things in a more thoughtful way and then form their own opinions. Look, as a governor, I view myself as accountable to 13 million Pennsylvanians. And, you know, I'm mindful that maybe now some folks outside Pennsylvania are curious what my thoughts are on that, on different things. And so what I try and do is sit down, folks like you and others, and have long and thoughtful conversations like this. I recognize that someone can snip a couple of my words, right, and then turn that into some viral moment and misunderstand me.
Starting point is 00:28:41 I'm sure there's something I've already said that someone's going to snip and say that they don't like this, that or the other thing. And I think it's incumbent upon me to sit, to answer questions, to give a thoughtful answer, and hopefully begin to change the culture of how people consume information and get them not just to look at a headline, but actually listen to a longer dialogue like this.
Starting point is 00:29:03 I think if you look, fewer and fewer people are consuming media in traditional ways, but they're listening to a long-form podcast like this. You all, I think in many ways, have a responsibility to helping fix this because you have earned something that is really valuable in this world. You've earned trust from your listeners. And so when you have someone on like me,
Starting point is 00:29:23 you should ask me questions, you should push me to answer them, in a thoughtful way and in a long form way. And hopefully that begins to also repair how people consume information, what they think, and create space for not just headlines, but something a little deeper than that. It's hard.
Starting point is 00:29:39 I wish I had a perfect answer for you. I don't. I also, sorry, one last thing. I mean, I think we do have to acknowledge that these social media companies, they do have some responsibility here. It's not just to, like, put up a blank slate and say, hey, say whatever the hell you want.
Starting point is 00:29:54 There has to be, some measure of checks on the system, not left wing, right wing checks, but just some responsibility to the truth and making sure that facts, not fiction, are what's put out there. Yeah, it just seems like the purpose is to divide, and you kind of touched on that,
Starting point is 00:30:13 and that's why I'm wondering, how does it get any better? How do you combat that with all the good intention? It just feels almost like it's so overwhelming. It feels like an impossible task. Not trying to discourage it, like you're doing the work, but I'm just saying it's, It's like you said, if people want a viral moment.
Starting point is 00:30:28 They want what's going to be, I guess, salacious or just like attract, divide people, something that's gonna be controversial. And it's like how, when you're trying to put out the message out there, that's the truth in a good way, that might not be as sexy to talk about, how do you come back at this point? A lot of it goes back to the algorithms
Starting point is 00:30:46 and how they get set. The algorithms are not set to incentivize thoughtful conversation that actually brings people together. It is incentivized to find that 10, second viral moment where somebody misspeaks or what have you and takes it to an extreme. Yeah. Happens to me all the time. Yeah?
Starting point is 00:31:04 Yeah. Is that what it is? You know, governor, I mean well. But maybe I overreacted to Bam passing up Kobe. You know, maybe I. That was crazy. 83 points? Yeah, you saw that.
Starting point is 00:31:17 So you thought that was, you're a basketball fan. You thought that was ethical. You thought that was an ethical 83 points from Ben. Why do you think it was not ethical? Did you watch the last? 10 minutes of the game. He's a Lakers fan. When they're filing on purpose,
Starting point is 00:31:31 everybody back here knows what I'm talking about. They're following on purpose. I don't want to get into this whole thing. We'll talk a little about it. I mean, he did shoot like a thousand free throws. He shot a thousand, 43 free throws or something like that. By the way, what was he 80 plus percent? I mean, he played great.
Starting point is 00:31:44 He played, yeah, he played well. I apologize to man. They helped him after like 70, which is why he was to call him. I apologize to him. Where is Kobe? By the way, Kobe got his 82, 81. 81.
Starting point is 00:31:55 81 at a time where they hacked the hell out of him and didn't call those fouls. Today those would be flagrants. He'd be shooting extra free throws. Pretty amazing. You need to be, you need to go. You got to stand up for Philly, Philadelphia here. Yeah, I mean, Kobe's our guy from Laura Marion.
Starting point is 00:32:09 William. Who's your goat, by the way? Who's your goat? Should we fight about that? It's Jordan. Okay, we're good. It's Jordan. My kids keep trying to tell me LeBron.
Starting point is 00:32:18 Generational. Generational. It's generational. It's generational. Who's second on your list? Kobe's second or LeBron second? No, no, no, it's LeBron's second, man. I can't be that much of a.
Starting point is 00:32:28 Kobe's your top five. Kobe's in my top five. Who else? I mean, like, for me, obviously, if I'm giving a top five that's based on whatever, but like Kobe Bryant just means a lot to me. He's one of those athletes, but it's LeBron. It's, you have to consider. I have guys in my top 10 that other guys might not like.
Starting point is 00:32:46 Hakeem Elijah ones in my top team. He was incredible. By the way, there's no Joelle Embed without Hakeem Elijah one. Yeah, there might not be a Joelle and B, period. He had the softest touch. Yeah. And it's just incredible. Who's your other two in your top five?
Starting point is 00:33:00 So my top five would be, just my top five would be, it's like, it's pretty generic. It's magic, bird, yeah. Yeah. LeBron, Jordan at the one. That five, I will put Kobe at five for me. Okay. I'll put Kobe at five. And that's, that's staying shit.
Starting point is 00:33:19 So I'm with you. Because you can't really put Kobe ahead. At this point, there's a legitimate conversation. about whether or not Steph is ahead of Kobe. Yeah, whether or not Steph is past Kobe. Look, I would take Larry Bird out of that because I fucking hate the Celtics. Oh, no Larry Bird.
Starting point is 00:33:34 No Larry Bird. Great player. Yeah. But I think there's an argument for Wilt and for Steph. Certainly. Yeah. Will the most dominating player. Kareen as well. Like, Greene was incredible.
Starting point is 00:33:45 Got to put Kareem up there. But I think you gotta put Wilt over Kareem. Really? Yeah, just so dominant. I mean, the game was different, right? But you're so dominant. The cream's championships, all-time scoring record, all of that stuff. This episode is brought to you by Sweet Green.
Starting point is 00:33:59 The day doesn't ask for permission. Lunch window? Gone before you saw it coming. You deserve a break that actually satisfies. Sweet Green's new wraps have got you. Real ingredients? Zero shortcuts. Everything you love in one hand.
Starting point is 00:34:13 Think green goddess chicken. Garlic aoli. Crumbled bacon. Corn salsa. 40 grams of protein. Made to keep up with whatever comes next. New Sweet Green wraps hit. Different. Order now at order.sweetgreen.com.
Starting point is 00:34:26 This episode is brought to you by Spectrum Business. Fast, reliable internet means everything for your business. And even this podcast, that's why I trust Spectrum Business to keep companies of all sizes connected with internet, advanced Wi-Fi, phone, TV, mobile services, plus 24-7 US-based support. Millions of business owners already trust Spectrum Business. So visit Spectrum.com slash business to learn more. Restrictions apply. Services, not available in all areas. This episode is brought to by WeatherTech. Everyone knows winter is the MVP and make it a mess. You don't need Weather Tech floor liners in the summer unless you hit the beach or go camping. Then you'd want a cargo liner or a road trip goes sideways, ketchup goes rogue,
Starting point is 00:35:09 ice cream drips. Yeah, you'd be pretty happy about those Weather Tech seat protectors. So just to be clear as the mud, you're inevitably going to step into the summer. You don't need WeatherTech unless you plan on doing summer. Visit WeatherTech. OtherTech.com today. Incredible. I'm not taking anything away from them. Before we move away from Pennsylvania, I do want to ask you...
Starting point is 00:35:30 Can we do this more? You like that with you. I do want to ask about your relationship with Meek Mill. This has been something... Because, you know, Meek is one of those guys. Meek is a very well-meaning, curious guy, but every once in a while, Meek just goes on Twitter and just...
Starting point is 00:35:49 One time he went on Twitter and he went too hard, and then he said that you called him, I did. And you were like, yo, Meek, chill. I wish you wouldn't have done that. Okay. Okay. What's your relationship with Meek Mill?
Starting point is 00:36:00 Like, talk about what Meek means to you. It's a bit of a long story. If I can get into it. I'm aware of the story. I covered it when I was working at the other place, like some of that stuff. But I know what. So, dear friend of mine for probably two decades now, got named Michael Rubin, is good friends of Meek, who I did not know at the time.
Starting point is 00:36:21 And Meek went in for what was... you know, fairly routine probation hearing. Yeah. And the judge threw him into jail for a minor probation violation. Poping a wheelie. Yeah. Which you could argue it wasn't even a probation violation. But, and she threw him in, if memory serves me, I think it was two years.
Starting point is 00:36:42 Yeah. And Michael calls me, I'm a attorney general at the time, Michael calls me leaving the courthouse, hair on fire, angry, you know, they put me away, this is wrong. And I'll be very honest with you. My immediate reaction was Meek must have done something. And I cautioned Michael. I said I would just be a little bit careful here. You probably don't know something.
Starting point is 00:37:05 I'm sure the judge had a reason. I was kind of on the side of, I'm sure the justice system is right here. Didn't know Meek. Didn't sort of couldn't weigh in on him personally. And I said to Michael, let me just sort of spend some time on this. Let me look at it. The more I looked at it, the more I sort of dug into it, the more I realized that Meek got a real raw deal.
Starting point is 00:37:30 And Michael said to me, I'm going to do everything in my power to, I think they called it Free Meek. He and Jay got together and did that. I just encouraged him as he went through that process. You should work to free Meek because it is a bum deal what he got. But you've got a lot of power.
Starting point is 00:37:47 You've got a lot of resources. You can't just make this about Meek. you've got to make this about the thousands, hundreds of thousands of people who get caught up in our system who are not famous like Meek Mill, but who get the same thing and they get in this perpetual cycle
Starting point is 00:38:02 of probation violations going back in. And yeah, do something about it. To Michael's great credit, he listened, created the reform movement. He and Robert Kraft and Jay and a whole bunch of folks. And they've done extraordinary work, both advocating, for policy changes and getting a whole bunch of people out of this dangerous cycle.
Starting point is 00:38:26 I was proud to sign into law in Pennsylvania some of the most progressive, far-reaching probation reforms that, in effect, only know details, but like sort of caps how long you'd be in there, creates opportunities for this kind of thing to not happen again. The night that Michael was successful in freeing me, he asked me, hey, would you like to come meet up with him in a Sixers game or meet, because he went straight to a Sixers game, meet him, when he lands. I was like, I really don't. Like, I'm not looking for attention on this.
Starting point is 00:38:56 I'm not looking at a paper. No, but I'm not looking, like, I'm not looking to, like, sort of make this about myself. I said, but I would like to actually come and talk to him. And so we just had a quiet dinner of the three of us at Michael's house. I think maybe a day after he got out. And I got to tell you,
Starting point is 00:39:16 Meek opened up my eyes to a lot of different things. I learned a lot more about the challenges that he and others had growing up and the way the system made it harder for them to get a shot to get ahead. I learned a lot more about some of the failures of our criminal justice system. And I learned a lot more about music, too,
Starting point is 00:39:37 because he asked me if I liked his music and I was brutally honest with him and my kids didn't, I didn't. I was like, man, I really find a lot of your music quite offensive. And then we sat there for hours. he would play a track, ask me what I thought,
Starting point is 00:39:51 and then explain the meaning behind it. And so it kind of opened up my eyes a lot more to understanding his music, the way he thinks, the way he approaches things. And I'm a better person because of that relationship. He is, as you said, unbelievably curious and incredibly intelligent. And he also has these moments
Starting point is 00:40:13 maybe where he kind of weighs in on some stuff that I wish you would. I did call him and encourage him to maybe chill out on Twitter. Yeah, like I'm not trying to tell him what to think or what to say, but you know, there's a way to do it. Anyway, I feel blessed, you know, to have him in my life and to learn from him. And I think I'm a more compassionate person and understanding person because of what he's taught me over the years. And I appreciate him.
Starting point is 00:40:46 And you know what? there are a whole lot of people who were no longer incarcerated, who shouldn't have been incarcerated in the first place, because of policies I've changed in Pennsylvania, of decisions I've made on pardons and clemencies because of the lessons that Meek has taught me. Wow. We've got to talk a little bit about national politics here.
Starting point is 00:41:06 So you hit on something earlier when you were talking about your faith, which is very important to you, and you said it might not be the smartest political move for you to talk as... Some people have said that. Some people have said that, to talk as much about your faith
Starting point is 00:41:20 because it might hinder you in the realm of national politics. I was talking to a friend of mine who reached out to a bunch of people when you were coming on, and a friend of mine was like, he talked about how much he liked you. I got two different responses.
Starting point is 00:41:36 Oh, boy. We were talking about both of these, but I'm going to talk about the first one first. He goes, love that guy. Then he goes, too bad as you can't be president. this guy is Jewish and he's feeling a lot of weight right now he's feeling it's heavy for him and we talked a little bit more about how he was feeling how he was feeling after what happened yesterday how he's been feeling in Michigan in Michigan yes of course we talked a little bit about
Starting point is 00:42:07 it on the podcast how he's been feeling but he seemed to share some of the skepticism that you may be intimated, people have told you about your rise and whether or not your faith would hold you back from being a national political figure. Do you think that what my friend said is correct that a Jewish man cannot be the president? A Jewish person cannot be the president. So one, I'm sorry your friend feels that way. I'm sorry there are people who said to me, hey, be careful about sharing yourself and your faith because that could be bad for you politically. I'm sorry that that exists in our society. Certainly. Let me let me sort of break down your question a few things. First, my experience on this.
Starting point is 00:42:53 Again, coming from the perspective of being in Pennsylvania, which I think we can all agree that the toughest swing state, biggest swing state in the entire country. And by the way, I think Republicans Democrats would agree if you want to win national election, you got to win Pennsylvania. When I was running for governor and we were putting our first ad out there, You know, sometimes you run an ad about your policy views. Sometimes you run an ad attacking your opponent for their policy views. I decided I wanted to run an ad that was deeply personal. And that is to tell the people of Pennsylvania why I wanted to serve, what motivates me to serve.
Starting point is 00:43:31 And to me, the central things that cause me to serve are family and faith. And so we ran an ad showing where I am pretty much near every Friday night, which is sitting around the dinner table with my family, celebrating our Sabbath, having our Sabbath dinner. And there were a bunch of political folks who were like, I don't think you want to run that ad. People are going to know you're Jewish. I'm like, I think they know I'm Jewish at this point.
Starting point is 00:43:58 But I wanted people to know who I am and what motivates me. Here's how I'm sharing that story with you. After we ran that ad, I'd show up in North Philly and people would tell me about their Iftar after Ramadan and how special that was for them. and they loved reading about my family meals. I'd show up in some rural communities
Starting point is 00:44:19 where there weren't many Jews and people would want to tell me what lunch is like after church on Sunday. Tell me about their Christmas Eve traditions. Being open about yourself and your faith, I think has the effect of actually allowing people to see you at a deeper level and then share of themselves at a deeper level
Starting point is 00:44:39 than what you might normally share with your governor or with your mayor or something like that. So it's actually allowed me to connect deeper with folks. And not only did I win the election, I got more votes in anybody in the history of Pennsylvania running for governor, not just Democrats, but Republicans, independence as well. As for a broader conversation about America,
Starting point is 00:44:58 I think America's reelect a woman, a black person, a gay person, a Jewish person, whatever. What America wants is someone who's going to get shit done for them, who's going to make their lives better. And they don't care what they look like or how they worship or what their gender is, they just want to know you're on their side and you're going to fight for them.
Starting point is 00:45:16 I think it is a tired conversation that we can't elect someone like X because of their characteristic. I think instead we have to understand the American people, and it's been my experience in Pennsylvania, are a lot better than what our shallow politics suggests. And so I believe the American people
Starting point is 00:45:37 will elect anybody who's ready to fight for them, who's got a track record of delivering and who has the know-how to get shit done. Do you think, that's interesting, do you think we're past as a country, identity, politics, or even weaponizing identity, or maybe even becoming the victim of it when it comes to politics?
Starting point is 00:45:57 No, I don't think we're past it. Okay. I just think people are better than it. Look, Barack Obama's election victory was historic, but what I thought was even more historic more extraordinary about it is the diverse coalition he pulled together in order to win. And he won and people voted for him because they felt that he was hopeful and he was going to bring change and he was going to deliver for them. And he was a history making candidate. My point in
Starting point is 00:46:29 sharing that is I think America is ready for all of the above when it comes to people of different characteristics, different walks of life. But what America really needs is someone who's going to go bat for them every day, fight for them every day, and be able to get stuff done for them every day. That is the central thing people want. There are still identity politics. It's still incentivized in our social media. It's still used as a weapon. I just don't think that weapon is as strong as the will of the American people. Do you think, you know, we talked up a little bit on the podcast the other day about the tragedy that happened in Michigan. And, you know, in your book, you start the first chapter about, you know, the attack against your residence against you.
Starting point is 00:47:14 With the conversations we're having here in this country and even, you know, you can, within the world, I guess, do you think that Americans understand the rise of anti-Semitism over the past few years? It's really hard to not see it and know it's out there. I think it's beginning to be more understood. And sadly, I think it's being more accepted as well. What you saw yesterday in Michigan is the latest example of that. And let's all agree, thank God. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:47:50 No one was killed. I mean, that was a situation where a lot of lives could have been taken. And my friend Gretchen Whitmer was on TV, I think it was this morning, making clear like there's no place for this. We've got to condemn it. I think all leaders have to speak with moral clarity on this. There should be no room for anti-Semitism, hatred, bigotry, racism, homophobia, any of that in our society.
Starting point is 00:48:17 And when it rears its ugly head, we all need to stand up together and condemn it. And by the way, not just a Jewish governor, all governors, right? We all need to condemn it. That's why I was grateful for what Gretchen says. I also think it's really important that the seeds that get planted that lead to incidents like this, that we're sort of stopped planting those seeds, stop giving a pass to different things, and call it out earlier on before it reaches the point where there's violence, before it reaches the point where someone has gunned down, before it reaches the point where little children's lives are at risk just simply because they go to school at a synagogue. Follow up.
Starting point is 00:49:05 There was a report that came out that after the election, actually this was recent, of the election 24. And it was done, I think, by the Democrats. It was kind of like an autopsy of kind of what happened. And the discussion was that they concluded that Kamala Harris lost significant support because of the Biden administration's approach to the war in Gaza. I'm wondering for you, how do you approach a conversation when it seems that progressive and moderate Democrats seem particularly divided over Israel and what's happening in Gaza?
Starting point is 00:49:45 Like, how do you approach that type of conversation when it comes to unity like you talk of in bringing diverse viewpoints and opinions together? So let me answer that by picking up on the question we just, we're talking about related to anti-Semitism. I think the way I approach this is making sure that we're having two distinct conversations. One, about condemning anti-Semitism,
Starting point is 00:50:12 which to me is an issue that has no nuance. It's whatever, black and white. We should all come together and say anti-Semitism is bad and we're going to speak out against it. The second conversation is Mideast policy.
Starting point is 00:50:27 What's happening in Israel? It's happening in Gaza. It's happening in Iran. And on that, those issues are full of nuance and we have to leave room for debate we have to leave room for differences and when someone has a different opinion than you on foreign policy it doesn't make him an anti-seman foreign policy in Israel it doesn't make them an anti-semit we have to create space for that discussion so when you ask me how do you approach it that's what I try and do
Starting point is 00:50:54 let's be clear there's no room for attacks based on your religion your ideology And again, I try and call it out wherever I see it. I communicated with Governor Whitmer yesterday about the attack in Michigan. I communicated with Mayor Mamdani, whatever it was, three, four days ago after the attack outside his home, motivated in, you know, the motivation was predicated upon different religions, but still there should be zero tolerance for any of that, right? So I try and separate out those two conversations, leave space for real debate. about what's happening, say with Israel, Middle East, what having,
Starting point is 00:51:34 but make clear that we all have to rally together with no nuance, black and white, speak with clarity when it comes to combating hatred and bigotry of all forms. Would you agree that it's sometimes difficult to do that because any talk or any discussion, any criticism of the government of Israel, or if you were to say that you were an anti-Zionist, I mean, there was a resolution passed in the House in Congress. That's it.
Starting point is 00:52:03 Anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism. So it seems like the nuance gets purposefully taken out of that argument to make any criticism, any critique of the state of Israel, not just with the policy and the genocide that happens and is ongoing right now. It's, you know, the ceasefire continues to be broken. But the historic treatment of the Palestinian people, any deep dive into that, And it seems like you're punished for it. You can't have the conversation. I think that's dangerous. And look, we should get into the issue so we can have a thoughtful conversation about it.
Starting point is 00:52:41 But I don't think that if you are critical of Benjamin Netanyahu, you're an anti-Semite. By the way, I'm critical of Benjamin Netanyahu. And I have been for years and years and years, even predating October 7th. I think his approach has made Israel less safe. I think it's undermined U.S. national security interests, which is my primary concern. And I think that criticizing him, as I do, isn't anti-Semitism. By the way, I criticize Donald Trump every day.
Starting point is 00:53:14 I've criticized him on your podcast. I'm a proud patriotic American. So I think that you have to create space for honest dialogue, for thoughtful discussion of differences as it relates to policy or political leadership or what have you. The point I'm trying to make, and I apologize if I've not made that clearly, is that we've got to be clear and resolute about standing up against anti-Semitism, standing up against hatred, standing up against bigotry. And that should be something we can
Starting point is 00:53:43 come together and agree on. Let me try to crystallize what I'm saying a little bit more. I'm a black man living in America. I'm from South Baner Rouge, Louisiana. When I got to high school, my high school was 1994. My high school had a white homecoming queen and a black homecoming queen. It's 1994 when I got to high school. I'm old guys. We can, I can step back and look at that and go, look at the function of racism in my culture and my community.
Starting point is 00:54:12 I can look at the historic treatment of black people in America, other people in America, and say that apartheid has nothing on what we've done to black people here historically and traditionally. I can't say that about Israel. No matter how much work that I do, no matter how many people that I talk to, no matter how many books that I read, I can't call not just Benjamin Netanyahu's regime now. I can't say that there's historically been an apartheid situation in Israel. I can't say that there's been tremendous, well, when I say when I say can't, meaning in a good faith argument, I can have a conversation where I say America is both this place that has provided.
Starting point is 00:54:57 the world with all kinds of different things, and it is also this tremendous, tremendous project of systemic racism. That's a fact. And people go, all those things are true. If I say that Israel is an apartheid state or that in order for Israel to be founded where it is right now, there had to be this massive ethnic cleansing campaign that went on,
Starting point is 00:55:21 where people cannot go back to their homes, the checkpoints, whatever it is, When we have that conversation, you start to hear people say that you hate Jewish people. Ah, okay, I see your point. Right. Okay. So I fundamentally disagree with your viewpoint. Certainly.
Starting point is 00:55:38 But I don't think you're an anti-Semite. I think that you are learning and struggling and grappling with issues that are really, really tough. And you formed an opinion, one that I disagree with, that you seemingly hold very honestly. I don't, I mean, I don't think that you've got hate in your heart toward someone because they're Jewish. I think you've got different views, say, than I do about Israel or about the Middle East. I mean, so I'm trying to make sure I'm getting that.
Starting point is 00:56:11 No, no, no, no, no. This is what I want, what I'm interested in is the dignity of people. Yeah. And that animates me in a real way. Like, I'm not a moral good person, okay? but I do care about the dignity. I'm not trying to, I don't want people, because I don't want people to, you know,
Starting point is 00:56:29 pull up my browser history and all that stuff. But like it- But you want him to pull up your basketball stats. I want him to pull up my basketball stats. He's showing me his basketball stats before we started. I do want to have an honest conversation about the dignity of the Global South, about people's ability to live full, free,
Starting point is 00:56:50 self-determinative lives, right? and any state, any state anywhere that might be encroaching on that. I believe that Israel has been one of the worst human rights violators in the history of his existence. I'm not saying, but I believe that to be the case. I want to be able to talk about that so that we can talk about how we change things and have a lasting peace in that region. Okay, so we're talking about it. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:57:18 And by the way, I think we're doing it really civilly and I appreciate that. We need more of that. So let's walk through this. Okay. Usually the conversation, you didn't start it here, but used the term apartheid, so we'll get to that in a second. So usually the conversation starts around the idea of,
Starting point is 00:57:37 does Israel have the right to exist? Right? And exist as a Jewish state. So let's sort of start there. I'm going to have a thoughtful conversation about this. There are 43 countries in the world that are majority Muslim. 26 of those 43 recognize Muslim,
Starting point is 00:58:00 pardon me, Islam as their official religion. There is one country in the world that recognizes Judaism as their official religion. And so if we're gonna have like an honest conversation about, does a nation have a right to exist if it's predicated upon a faith, kind of gotta scratch here. head and wonder, okay, why are we talking about the one and not the other 26? But okay, let's talk about the one. Do you want me to answer that question? Sure, if you want. Okay. I want to finish
Starting point is 00:58:30 the thought. Okay. No, well, this is what I would say. Number one, that is true. Um, but there are some interesting caveats here. Number one, Israel is positioned worldwide as a Western liberal democracy, right? Western liberal democracies should not be oriented around or are not Normally oriented around religion. Like ethno-supremacy, ethno-religious supremacy. Okay. So let's talk about that. Okay.
Starting point is 00:59:00 Let's talk about it. So, but you talk about peace and you talk about that, I wanna hit both points, okay? You and I, I think both want the same thing. We want peace in the Middle East. I'll define what peace looks like, and you can share your thoughts. Peace to me are two nations.
Starting point is 00:59:19 you know, Israel and a Palestinian country living side by side in peace with full recognition for one another, an acknowledgement that both have a right to exist, and an acknowledgement that the goal of each country is not to wipe out the other. That is what I want. I want peace. I think if one doesn't recognize Israel's right to exist, then you're in. Not you. Then one is in effect for really just permanent war.
Starting point is 00:59:54 Because you're effectively saying Israel's got to go and Israel's not going anywhere. So you're in effect saying we're just going to have this permanent state of war in the Middle East. I want peace. And I want to see opportunity for peace. And peace requires respect and dignity for all people in the region and for ultimately two states. We're a long way from two states. But that has been my view for probably the last 15 or, 20 years or so.
Starting point is 01:00:20 You realize that Israel is doing that, though. You realize that as we speak, Israel and has over the course of its recent history and it's, you know, longer history, like violated agreements that push further and further and build settlements into the West Bank and annex land that they should not, they're threatening the existence of these people as they can self-govern every single day. I'll address that because it's a fair point. I would also just say recognize that the governing authority in Gaza, Hamas, terrorist group that wants to wipe Israel and all Jews off the map. So you've got problems here.
Starting point is 01:01:00 I would argue terrorist, you know, entity is far more dangerous, but you've got problems here on both sides. Then the nuclear-powered nation on the other side. But I would agree with you that the situation in the West Bank is unacceptable. In fact, just about a week or so ago, I called on Pam Bondi, who's the Attorney General of the United States, to investigate the killing of a Palestinian-American, who happens to be from northeast Philly, who was killed seemingly based on the information we have available to us,
Starting point is 01:01:33 seemingly by settlers in the West Bank. And I made clear we need both a diplomatic solution to stop this type of action in the West Bank, and we need a full accounting for what happened to this American citizen while there. I've been very outspoken about what's happening in the West Bank is absolutely not okay.
Starting point is 01:01:55 The idea that settlers are going and burning farms and killing people or driving them from their land, that is unacceptable to me. We're in violent agreement, I would say, on that issue. I want to just mention, there's one other word you used
Starting point is 01:02:14 and I don't want to let it hang there. I think it's important to have this conversation. Certainly. You use the word apartheid. Take a look in Israel. Someone who would identify as Muslim, someone who would identify as a Palestinian Christian. They live in a society
Starting point is 01:02:33 with all of the same rights and legal responsibilities. Please help me finish. I got you. As Israelis. They get elected to the Knesset, which is their parliament. They pay taxes, they can serve in the military. They are citizens in the world in a way that a true apartheid state would not allow for.
Starting point is 01:02:55 Good. I didn't mean to cut you off, please. I disagree with that. I know you do. I do not think that they have all of the same rights. I think that there are both soft violations of their rights and more structural violations of their rights. You can look at things as the nation state law. There's many different ways that the government of Israel both structural, culturally and culturally establishes the supremacy
Starting point is 01:03:17 that they have to have in their society in order for it to operate the way that it does because the math just doesn't work out. I don't want to hold you here and hold you on this because we got to go. I would love to get into this deeper with you. We can't end on this. We can't end on this.
Starting point is 01:03:32 We can't end on this. I do appreciate the conversation. I do as well. It's a good example of how it should be. I appreciate the willingness to have the conversation and also, once again, have to say it again, that on higher learning, we were combating anti-Semitism before October 7th.
Starting point is 01:03:54 We are not going to stand for any anti-Semitism. We're not going to, but we are going to advocate for the dignity and the humanity of the Palestinian people. And I don't think that that has to be a choice, you don't have to have. I don't either. But I just want us to make sure that, because this is going to be an issue moving forward
Starting point is 01:04:18 as we see support for Israel erode across the American political landscape. We're going to have to have this conversation more robustly. I don't either. And I think what you heard me say is very similar to what I think your aspirational goal is, what I hope your aspirational goal is. And that is to have dignity for the Palestinian people,
Starting point is 01:04:38 their own homeland, living side by side with Israel. I think what is dangerous here, I'm not accusing you of this by any stretch, is for those who think Israel doesn't have a right to exist in that conversation, that to me is a recipe for permanent war. And what I want to see is peace.
Starting point is 01:04:57 And I think you want to see peace as well. Safety for the Israeli people, safety for the Palestinian people. I will ask you one more question before you leave. Can we get back to basketball? We'll get back to basketball right now. Like, if we, just so we can leave, you're talking about this hooping right now.
Starting point is 01:05:14 You versus Obama, one to 12, make it take it. Is it make it take it? Make it take it. And can we guarantee neither one of us are going to blow our Achilles out, right? So we're going to be healthy. I don't know that you can guarantee that, governor.
Starting point is 01:05:30 I just like, you versus Obama. Assuming you're both healthy. Assuming you're both healthy. You both are great shake. The ex-president is what he's 63, 64, right now. Man, he's, he's really, he's really good and he's in great shape.
Starting point is 01:05:42 So, I'm deadly from mid-range. Okay. The problem I'm going to have is he is long, and he's got long arms. No, he's got long arms. And so if he is able to stop me from getting that mid-range jump shot off,
Starting point is 01:05:59 or I'm off that day, and I miss, he's going to be in a position to box me out get those rebounds. I think he has... Oh no, once you shoot, that's it. Right, because he gets a reason. Oh, no, we're not boarding. Oh, there's no, boy.
Starting point is 01:06:13 You just get one shot. No, no, no, no. We're playing for real skills-based one-on-one. You miss, it's the other guys ball. We're not playing Hustleman ball. Oh, okay. I think it's a tough game. That's a close game.
Starting point is 01:06:28 He's just, man, he's long. He's going to be able to interrupt my jump shot. And as my kids will tell you, if he pushes me further out into three, that's where I'm going to lose a lot of accuracy. I'm confident myself, but it's a little hard to sit here and say, oh, yeah, I'm going to kick Obama's ass in one-on-one. I'm not going to say that. I'm not giving you that viral moment. Because, by the way, what I need it was, I'll bust his ass.
Starting point is 01:06:54 He did say he was deadly from, wait, have you ever played with him before? I actually haven't. No, I haven't played with him. This is the moment. If you could do anything, you should at least challenge him to a game. Y'all should play. This is, this is, yeah. All right, Mr. President.
Starting point is 01:07:07 I'm challenging. Governor Shapiro, thank you for joining us on higher life. We appreciate you join us. We're fantastic. We're going to be with you. Some follow the noise. Bloomberg follows the money.
Starting point is 01:07:27 Because behind every headline is a bottom line. Whether it's the funds fueling AI or crypto's trillion dollar swings, there's a money side to every story. And when you see the money side, you understand what others miss. Get the money side of the story. Subscribe now at Bloomberg.com.
Starting point is 01:07:50 Ryan Reynolds here for MintMobil. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same premium wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities, so do like I did and have one of your assistants assistants to switch you to MintMobile today.
Starting point is 01:08:05 I'm told it's super easy to do at mintmobile.com slash switch. Up front payment of $45 for three-month plan equivalent to $15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at mintmobile.com.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.