Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) held a press briefing on Thursday at a Harrisburg fire station.
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00:00We'll be happy to take your questions.
00:03You heard my remarks earlier, but I just want to begin by, again, on behalf of Lori and our kids and our whole family, thanking Harrisburg Fire, thanking the local fire companies for answering that call and being there so quickly and getting that fire out and quite literally saving our lives.
00:24We talked as a family about wanting to do something to help say thank you.
00:30There's no real words other than thank you, and there's no way that we can fully express our great thanks other than to be dedicated to supporting our firefighters and first responders every day.
00:44And we wanted to do something special for them today.
00:47Our kids certainly urged us to do this, to serve them a meal and make sure that they knew they were being well taken care of.
00:54And so that's why we're here today.
00:56We're going to continue to support them, continue to have their backs.
01:00And Lori and I are just profoundly grateful for the warmth and the love that we've received, not just from our first responders, but from all Pennsylvanians.
01:08And with that, if you've got some questions, I'm happy to try and answer them.
01:12I know you're taking a visit and a hike.
01:15How are you?
01:17Yeah, look, my kids are resilient, and Lori's a rock.
01:23And we're getting through it.
01:26And, you know, we're lifted up, as Lori has said, by the prayers and the warm wishes, including the prayer that was just given to us by a chaplain here at the local fire company, a prayer that we recite to our children every day.
01:41Those prayers have lifted our spirits.
01:47I know you're going to think this sounds strange, but you can feel the warm wishes and the prayers that people are sending our way around you.
02:00You just feel it.
02:02I don't know how else to describe it.
02:04Obviously, you know, I'm a person of faith.
02:05I believe in God.
02:07But the prayers we've received from our Muslim brothers and sisters, our Christian brothers and sisters, our Jewish brothers and sisters, from everyone, those prayers are lifting us up.
02:17And it feels like it's wrapped around us and protecting us during this time.
02:22Governor, you mentioned that prayer.
02:24Can you say one line out of that prayer for us?
02:27Can you share that with us?
02:29Because you mentioned it a couple times.
02:30Yeah.
02:30What's one line that stands out for you?
02:33You know, it's a prayer we recite in Hebrew for our kids.
02:38It's from the Book of Numbers.
02:40The Lord bless thee and keep thee.
02:42The Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee.
02:46The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace.
02:50That's a prayer and a hope that we have for our kids every day, that they have peace in their lives.
02:56Obviously, that peace was shattered on Sunday morning.
02:59But it is a hope and a prayer that we have, not just for our kids, but every child across Pennsylvania, that they live in a society that's free and peaceful, where they are protected and they are watched over by God.
03:15The Department of General Services did send an update about their progress looking at the residents and said that the living space and the workspace should be,
03:29We're going to go back as soon as we can.
03:49And the Department of General Services has done an extraordinary job.
03:53We're going to get the living quarters cleaned and ready for us to come back to.
03:58We're a little late today because Lori and I were over there this morning.
04:01It was the first time we had the chance to walk through there together.
04:06And we'll be eager to get back there.
04:09On Tuesday, we had the Easter egg roll.
04:13This coming Tuesday, the Easter egg roll is scheduled.
04:16And we're both insistent upon it happening.
04:18We want to welcome children and families from all across Pennsylvania back to the governor's residence.
04:25Obviously, it'll take some time before we can have them in the state dining room, but we're going to work to get that prepared real quick.
04:30We're going right back in there.
04:32What was it like to walk through there?
04:38You know, it's on the one hand, you're thankful for all the people who are there, who are working to get the people's house back.
04:48Back in order and back to a place where we can welcome folks into the home.
04:56I'd be lying if I said it wasn't jarring, scary to see that in the light of day.
05:03To see the areas where we either make memories privately up in the in the residence with our kids, hanging out, laughing, enjoying ourselves or in the more public spaces where we've been able to welcome so many people to our home.
05:19People who ordinarily wouldn't get an invitation to the governor's residence.
05:22It's very important to Lori especially that we're bringing so many different kinds of people in.
05:27And so to to see those spots that are charred and burnt out and glass broken around areas that, you know, before we're just happy, special places for us is is tough.
05:40But we're going to rebuild from that.
05:42We're going to be stronger from that.
05:43And we're going to, I think, probably have even more purpose in what we do as a result of that.
05:48Mrs. Shapiro.
05:49Mrs. Shapiro?
06:18Let me be very clear. I have total and complete confidence in District Attorney Franchardo to charge this case as he sees fit, to analyze the evidence, to apply the law, and to see the case through.
06:32I'm not going to weigh in on what those charges should be. I'm not going to question his judgment. Should the Department of Justice choose to bring charges, I'll also respect their decision to do just that.
06:49As to Senator Schumer or anybody else, I don't think it's helpful for people on the outside who haven't seen the evidence, who don't know what occurred, who are applying their own viewpoints to the situation, to weigh in in that manner.
07:05My trust is with the prosecutor to make the decision. He'll make the right decisions and will be fully supportive of whatever decision he makes.
07:13I mean, look, all I'm going to say is that we're so grateful to everyone who got our entire family out safely, and that is the most important thing, that we're all still standing here today and we're all safe.
07:39And, you know, it was a hard experience. Going back there today was a hard experience, but as Josh said, we're all very resilient, and we are grateful that everyone is safe and grateful to all the helpers.
07:52Tom, when we walked through there today,
08:20I think we couldn't help but think about the spot where the candles that we had lit to begin the holiday were, or where the table was that we were sitting as we led the Seder, the Passover meal.
08:39As I kind of looked around the room, I imagined where our family was and where the guests from across the Commonwealth sat.
08:48And it was very, very moving for us. And again, you just thank God that everyone got out safe.
08:55The resident staff and the Department of General Services has been able to collect a number of the ritual items and other items that were in the room.
09:06Some just required a dusting and a cleaning. Others are destroyed.
09:11They've made, they've put them together. I know some will stay with the residents.
09:17Some will end up in the state museum and the state archives.
09:19And we're going to work through that to make sure that the public who wants to be able to know what happened there will be able to see some items that we'll be able to have some of our personal items and that other items will continue to be able to be used at the residence, not just during our time, but with, you know, with, with future governors and first families.
09:39Governor, you said today that you were forever bonded with the firefighters here.
09:45Do you have this pain? Do you need something like this in the future or continue to be in touch with assisting these firefighters here in the future?
09:54I mean, I always show up at firehounds, always thank our firefighters.
09:58In fact, the budget that I proposed a few months ago included record funding for our firefighters.
10:04We've got to get that passed.
10:06We've got to see to it that Harrisburg fire, which is in kind of a unique position here in the state capitol gets its fair share of funding.
10:15All of those things were true before this fire.
10:17And we're going to, we're going to continue to fight to make sure that they get their fair share.
10:27I'll just say a message to people of all faith communities.
10:30Do not be deterred in practicing your faith.
10:33Do not be deterred in being proud of who you are.
10:37I'm proud of who I am.
10:38Lori's proud of who she is.
10:40We're raising our children to be proud of who they are.
10:42And here in the birthplace of religious freedom, a place that William Penn founded to be a place that would be warm and welcoming for people of all different faiths.
10:53I want you to know that you're safe here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and we're going to celebrate your faith.
11:01I was asked, Annie, I don't know if it was you or someone else, had asked about our reflection on, maybe it's Tom, I apologize, our reflection on some of the items in the room.
11:13At one point today when we stopped to see the chandelier that had come down from the ceiling and was kind of partly melted and partly covered, you know, in soot and what have you from the fire.
11:29It was it was resting on a place on the floor where just the night before we had celebrated our Passover Seder.
11:41Two or three weeks earlier, we had celebrated an Iftar dinner at the conclusion of Ramadan.
11:48And about a year before that, where kids danced and played at our son Ruben's bar mitzvah and right where the Christmas tree stands every December in the governor's residence.
12:01We really believe that Pennsylvania and this residence should be a place where people of all faiths are welcome and all faiths are are comforted and feel as though they can celebrate openly and proudly who they are.
12:17And we're going to get that room back to being a place that's warm and welcoming for all.
12:25Just a couple more questions here.
12:26Jillian.
12:27How about there?
12:28Where is Jillian?
12:29I'm back here.
12:30I'm short.
12:32Can you describe...
12:33Ford is blocking you there.
12:34Come on, Ford.
12:37Can you tell us a little bit more about this and getting that knock on the door?
12:43Can you describe that in a little bit more detail for people?
12:46You might not understand what the matter is this is right with your family.
12:51We concluded our Seder maybe around 10-ish or so at night.
12:59Guests, family, and others kind of went into more of the private section of the first floor, the Erie Room, the Grand Hall.
13:08And everybody was just enjoying one another and spending time and celebrating not just the holiday, but each other, enjoying each other's company.
13:17I'd say around midnight or so, we all went upstairs.
13:21This was probably...
13:22We probably spent an hour yelling at the kids to go to bed and they didn't listen for that hour.
13:27But I'd say by about midnight, we were all upstairs, said goodnight to the kids, got the dogs situated.
13:36And I'd say, you know, probably fell asleep around 1 o'clock in the morning.
13:44Less than an hour later, I heard yelling in the hallway, which was not like our kids' voices.
13:51It was one of the state troopers running down the hallway and he banged on the door.
13:57I don't know how he did it, but it wasn't a knock.
14:00It was more of a bang.
14:02Said, Governor, First Lady, we've got to get up.
14:04There's a fire.
14:04We've got to evacuate immediately.
14:06I would say within just a few seconds, we ran to each of the doors in the hallway to open them up and get the kids up, get the dogs up, and usher everybody down a back stairwell.
14:23And we followed the troopers out to the driveway area.
14:29And we were asked multiple times if everyone was present and accounted for.
14:34They were.
14:37Troopers and Capitol Police kept us safe as Harrisburg Fire and other fire arrived.
14:43Each time a different crew or person arrived, they asked to make sure we were all there, present and accounted for.
14:51We were.
14:53I remember it being a cold and kind of misty night.
14:58We were all a little chilly.
14:59Everybody was in their pajamas.
15:00And we just kind of huddled up and just tried to keep the kids calm and keep everybody calm.
15:09We didn't know at that moment on that side of the house the full extent of the damage and what was going on on the other side of the house.
15:17But we saw one after another brave firefighters keep showing up and showing up and showing up as that was occurring.
15:26Many more members of the state police arrived.
15:28Many members of our detail arrived to make sure we were OK.
15:33We were able to gather a few items up from the house and then we were on our way to a safe location for all of us.
15:43And we got the kids to sleep, got them settled.
15:47And then the next morning you saw me.
15:51I drove back and was at the residence with all of you.
15:54One former governor told me they, as soon as they heard about what happened, they said, I probably don't know exactly what this guy got in.
16:11Obviously, like, there's people who know what the residents are saying.
16:14Do you see any of the unique physical boundaries in the areas that you might want to see?
16:22Yes, yes, there are going to be a lot of improvements, a lot of improvements to the grounds, a lot of improvements to the technology that's used, and a lot of improvements to the systems.
16:36I have total and complete confidence in the Pennsylvania State Police, both the members of our detail, the detail that protect Lori and I and the kids, Blair and Austin and Harper.
16:47And I have confidence that they, working together with a third party who will assist us in this process, working together with the experts at the state police, that they will make whatever changes are necessary in order to keep not just us safe,
17:06but, importantly, those who work at the governor's residence, those who visit the governor's residence literally every day, from school groups to people who are there to meet with me to people who are there for events.
17:20I expect things to change.
17:22They need to change.
17:23And I have confidence that under Colonel Parris' leadership, they will change and they will learn from this, and we will all be safer as a result.
17:31Thank you, guys.
17:32Thanks, everybody.