(The Hill) -- Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) went after former President Donald Trump on Monday, knocking him over “whining” about the current state of the U.S. ahead of November's election.
Shapiro, one of President Joe Biden’s top surrogates, was asked during an interview on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki” about how Trump’s recent conviction in his hush-money case will play out.
The swing-state governor acknowledged that he did not know how things would turn out after the former president is sentenced next month but said Trump should stop trying to divide the American people.
“All they hear from Donald Trump is a whole bunch of whining about this country,” he told the host, former White House press secretary Jen Psaki. “And I think Donald Trump’s got to quit whining, go to quit trying to divide us."
"I mean, consider this, Jen. We’re producing more energy than anyone before in this nation," he continued. "We have the strongest economy in the world, and we are beating China for the first time in decades. More people went to work this morning in America than any other time in our nation’s history.”
The Democratic governor also sought to make the case for why Biden should be reelected in November.
The governor said Pennsylvanians want “good schools for their kids. They want safe communities. They want economic opportunities. And they want their freedoms to be protected."
He added, "And you know what? I think they want to be led by someone who is honest and decent — Someone who’s actually on their side like Joe Biden.”
His comments come as Trump has repeatedly criticized the current state of the country under the Biden administration, often calling it “a nation in decline.”
In Shapiro’s view, the U.S. is still the “greatest” nation in the world and added that Keystone State residents agree.
"So, I got a message to Donald Trump and all of his negativity and whining: Stop s--- talking America,” Shapiro said on MSNBC. “This is the greatest country on Earth and it’s time that we all start acting like it. The good people of Pennsylvania understand that this is a great country, understand that we got a whole lot going for us.”
“And not it’s time for us to continue this path of progress that Joe Biden has laid out and not go back to a negative time, not listen to the whining of the former president, and instead, focus on a positive future for all of us,” he added.
The Hill/Decision Desk HQ's polling index currently shows Biden narrowly trailing Trump in Pennsylvania by less than 2 points — 46.1 percent to 47.8 percent respectively.