Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said Tuesday that President Donald Trump called him over the weekend to discuss the arson attack on the governor’s mansion a week before.
Shapiro said Trump called him Saturday morning and that the president was “very gracious.”
The governor said he did not answer Trump’s call and let it go to voicemail because he did not recognize the number the president was calling from.
“I appreciated that the president called me,” Shapiro told reporters at the annual Easter Egg Hunt at the governor’s residence in Harrisburg. “I actually didn’t take his call because it came from his cellphone and I didn’t have that number in my phone, so I didn’t know who it was. As soon as I heard his message, I called him right back.”
SUSPECT’S 911 CALL RELEASED AFTER ARSON AT PA GOVERNOR’S MANSION THAT APPEARED TO BE FUELED BY WAR IN GAZA
Shapiro said he spoke with Trump for about 15 minutes about various topics, including the arson attack and how his wife and children were doing following the fire incident.
“He was very gracious,” Shapiro said. “He asked how Lori and the kids were doing. [We] talked for a couple of minutes about what transpired at the residence, and then we talked for maybe the next 15 minutes or so about a whole host of other topics.”
“Obviously, I’m not going to get into our private conversation, but he’s attuned to the issues that are important to me,” the governor continued. “I, of course, know the issues that are important to him, and we agreed to stay in touch going forward.”
Shapiro told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in an interview recorded late last week and aired Sunday that Trump had not called him after the April 13 attack on his residence. The governor said at the time that he had heard from Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel.
Trump said last week when asked if he knew of the attacker’s motive that he had not heard about one. He also said that the suspect “was not a fan of Trump.”
SUSPECTED PENNSYLVANIA ARSONIST MAY HAVE BEEN MOTIVATED BY WAR IN GAZA: POLICE
“He’s probably just a whack job. And certainly a thing like that cannot be allowed to happen,” Trump said at the time.
Cody Balmer, 38, is charged with attempted murder, aggravated arson, burglary, terrorism and related offenses for allegedly setting fire to Shapiro’s residence last week.
Balmer has reportedly admitted in multiple instances that he was motivated by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and what Shapiro, who is Jewish, “wants to do to the Palestinian people.”
“Governor Josh Shapiro needs to know that Cody Balmer will not take part in his plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people,” Balmer allegedly told a dispatcher in a 911 call after the attack. “He needs to leave my family alone. He needs to get his eyes off of my daughters. And he needs to stop having my friends killed.”
“You all know where to find me. I’m not hiding, and I will confess to everything that I had done,” he added.
A warrant details Balmer’s interview with state troopers in which he allegedly admitted to “harboring hatred towards” Shapiro. Balmer also reportedly admitted to a trooper that he was responsible for the arson attack and said he planned to attack Shapiro with his hammer if he were to find the governor in the mansion.
Surveillance video described in a warrant allegedly shows Balmer breaking a window at the governor’s residence before throwing “an incendiary device” inside. According to the warrant, Balmer then broke another window, entered the residence and deployed another incendiary device before he “approached the dining room exit.”
The warrant also says a woman — seemingly identified as Balmer’s “ex-paramour” — said he confessed to the attack and asked her to call police to turn him in.
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