Governor Shapiro was finally asked if he’d sign Senate Bill 9, “The Save Women’s Sports Act,” which would ensure that only biological females can play competitive women’s sports.
His non-answer and partisan attack embody that of a slick salesman. “What we do not need in Pennsylvania are politicians — extremists politicians like Trump and Mastriano, and these others — trying to legislate a student’s participation…” Yet, he declined to say if he’d veto the bill: “It’s a hypothetical…and, I haven’t reviewed it specifically.”
Well, he has reviewed it… and bringing up Trump and Mastriano on legislation that affects over one million Pennsylvania girls is deflection to the nth degree. We are proud to be relegated to “these others,” who have the courage to stand with girl athletes in the Commonwealth.
His response was quintessential Shapiro — the self-described moderate who touts bipartisanship: 1) blasts Republicans by calling them “extremists;” 2) ignore the facts of the issue that weaken his response (e.g., five Democrats in the State Senate joined every Republican in voting for the bill; and most pollsters show that over two-thirds of even Democrats support this kind of bill); and, 3) offer a slippery non-answer that allows him to later either sign or veto the bill, without appearing to contradict himself.
Slick Shapiro. Ignore the issue at hand. Attack Republicans. Offer platitudes. And leave everyone both nodding their heads and wondering where he stands.
As much as Governor Shapiro employs diplomatic, ambiguous language to appear moderate, in a state that’s trending red, he’s failed to confront two major politically popular items on his endless campaign for president. Yes, he employs skillful, sleight-of-hand rhetoric, but he also employs over 20, highly paid social media influencers to pad his brand. But what may haunt the Governor is his abandonment of students, and his treatment of women. All things considered, the man who expends so much time, energy, and taxpayer money to seem like a bipartisan centrist is actually a political chameleon.
Shapiro likes to brand himself as a defender of women, yet he is still mum on arguably sexist threats from his Philadelphia Building Trades toward Treasurer Stacy Garrity. This cold silence isn’t new. The infamous sexual abuse scandal that rocked the Governor’s internal team two years ago involving then-Cabinet Secretary Mike Vereb was met with very few words from the Governor – and, sadly, very few questions from the legacy media.
Usually very disciplined in front of the camera, Shapiro snapped this week when he called Pennsylvania legislators who are fighting to protect the integrity of girls’ sports “extreme.” It’s not been the first time accusations have been hurled at Republicans from the Governor’s office, but it might be the first time they’ve been levied on an 80/20 political issue. His comments aren’t just tone deaf, they’re possibly disqualifying.
As an emerging Democratic presidential darling, Josh Shapiro, who prides himself on bipartisan agreement, finds himself amidst the mere 20 percent of Americans who believe girls’ sports should be dominated by biological males. A 2025 New York Times/Ipsos poll found that 79 percent of Americans do not support men invading girls’ sports fields, courts, and locker rooms, even 67 percent of Democrats hold this belief. (We believe that the numbers are even higher.) Senate Bill 9, the Save Women’s Sports Act, carried the support of five Senate Democrats, which is good for over 20 percent of the Democratic caucus.
The only sensible conclusion, then, is that the Governor picks and chooses when the “bipartisan” hat might be politically useful. With this strange betrayal of Pennsylvania women and girls, he has sided with far-left political ideologues — betraying not just girl athletes, but Democrats, Independents, and Republicans alike.
80/20 issues are few and far between, but 70/30 issues are almost as rare. School choice is one of those issues – one that 70 percent of Pennsylvanians support – and one that Governor Shapiro has failed to deliver on.
Whether it was his veto of Lifeline Scholarships, a school choice program that would rescue kids trapped in low-achieving schools, or his support of heavy-handed and nefarious cuts and restrictions to public cyber charter students, the Governor again finds himself siding with a politically minimized minority. “Mr. Moderate,” who campaigned on supporting school choice — and personally exercises school choice as his children attend a private religious school — found a way to talk the talk, but veto the bill doing what he said he supports.
If “Slick Shapiro” refuses to answer this basic question, or if he tries to defend the indefensible — allowing men to compete in women’s sports — he shouldn’t even get re-elected as our governor. Then, we’ll never know if voters across America would tolerate his slippery non-answers to basic questions that impact their families.
Representative Joe D’Orsie represents the 47th District, serving parts of York County. A former student athlete, Joe both wrestled and played football at Duquesne University. Follow Joe @JoeDforPA
Guy Ciarrocchi is a commentator and strategist—and softball coach. Follow Guy @PaSuburbsGuy
