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Josh Shapiro Smears Hegseth As ‘Eight-Year-Old.’ But He Cowers Before His Party’s Anti-Israel Mob.

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Cite

Berrien, H. (2026, November 9). Josh Shapiro Smears Hegseth As ‘Eight-Year-Old.’ But He Cowers Before His Party’s Anti-Israel Mob. The Daily Wire. https://www.dailywire.com/news/josh-shapiro-smears-hegseth-as-eight-year-old-but-he-cowers-before-his-partys-anti-israel-mob

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The Daily Wire · collected 2026-11-09 · by Hank Berrien

Quick Summary

Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania criticized War Secretary Pete Hegseth on NBC’s "Meet the Press," calling him childish and insinuating that he is making America less safe, while hinting at possible impeachment proceedings against Hegseth. However, the article points out that Shapiro himself has been reluctant to confront leftist extremists within his party who are hostile towards Israel, failing to condemn anti-Israel rhetoric or take a strong stance on military aid for the country during critical times. The piece argues that despite Shapiro’s aggressive criticism of Hegseth, he lacks the courage to challenge similar issues within his own political sphere.
Written by AI on 2026-11-09, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Josh Shapiro, the Pennsylvania Governor and Democratic presidential hopeful, criticized Pete Hegseth as acting like "an eight-year-old playing with toy soldiers" during an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press." However, Shapiro himself has avoided confronting hard-left extremists within his own party. For instance, he did not condemn figures such as NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, who accused Israel of “apartheid” and “genocide,” or candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, who attended a protest in Times Square following the Hamas attack on October 7 that killed over 1,200 Israelis. Shapiro's reluctance to condemn these figures highlights his inconsistency in addressing anti-Israel rhetoric within his party.

Written for “Josh Shapiro Criticizes Hegseth” on 2026-11-09, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans strongly right (beta estimate) Confidence high
Leaning: leans strongly right for article 139124 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-11-09

Story

Josh Shapiro Criticizes Hegseth
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly right and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
“Dead Man Walking”: Officials Say Hegseth Has to Go Different event
The Intercept
Leans strongly left further left than this Hedges 15 of 158 claims Outlet record 97/100
“The articles describe different aspects of ongoing political developments related to Pete Hegseth, rather than the same specific incident.”
Hegseth vows to keep fighting from Pentagon, defends Iran war Different event
The Straits Times
Hedges 5 of 30 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different events: one is Hegseth's video message defending the Iran war, while the other is Governor Shapiro criticizing Hegseth on a TV show.”
Hegseth seeks $350B for military as he defends decisions amid impeachment push from Democrats Different event
Just The News
Hedges 0 of 16 claims Outlet record 95/100
“The articles describe different events: one about Hegseth seeking military funding and defending his decisions, and another about Josh Shapiro criticizing Hegseth on a television appearance.”
Hegseth seeks $350B for military as he defends decisions amid impeachment push from Democrats Different event
Just The News
Leans strongly right Hedges 0 of 15 claims Outlet record 95/100
“The articles describe different aspects of the ongoing political situation involving War Secretary Pete Hegseth, but they do not report on the same specific incident or occurrence.”
Trump Defends Hegseth as Republican-Led Impeachment Vote Looms Different event
TIME
Hedges 2 of 39 claims Outlet record 59/100
“The articles describe different statements made by Trump and Shapiro regarding Pete Hegseth, rather than the same specific incident or time.”
Hegseth faces bipartisan impeachment threat after Iran war gets blame for GOP midterm slaughter Different event
Fox News
Leans right further left than this Hedges 4 of 38 claims Outlet record 67/100
“Article A discusses imminent bipartisan impeachment threats against Hegseth due to his handling of the Iran war, while Article B reports on Governor Josh Shapiro's criticism of Hegseth and mentions a potential but not immediate impeachment consensus.”
‘Pete Hegseth has got to go’: Jeffries is ‘hard yes’ on defense secretary’s impeachment Different event
The Independent
Hedges 4 of 22 claims Outlet record 59/100
“While both articles discuss potential impeachment of Pete Hegseth and criticism from political figures, they describe different speeches or appearances by Hakeem Jeffries and Josh Shapiro on different shows.”
‘Knives out’: Will Congress impeach Pete Hegseth after GOP midterms loss? Different event
Al Jazeera
Leans left further left than this Hedges 7 of 48 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A discusses Josh Shapiro's criticism of Pete Hegseth on Meet the Press, while Article B focuses on potential impeachment calls for Hegseth following midterm election results.”
Pressure mounts on US defence chief after Republican midterm election rout Different event
The Straits Times
Leans left further left than this Hedges 2 of 23 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses general pressure on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth following midterm election results, while Article B focuses on Governor Josh Shapiro's criticism of Hegseth during a TV interview.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
95/100
The Daily Wire's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-09 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Daily Wire · 78 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected
No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.

Who wrote this

Hank Berrien
2 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
In July, with his eye on a future White House bid, Shapiro performed a giant tap dance on MS NOW when Willie Geist pressed him on the hard-Left taking over Democratic primaries in New York and Colorado.
2026-11-09 · assertive framing · Josh Shapiro Smears Hegseth As ‘Eight-Year-Old.’ But He Cowers Before His Party’s Anti-Israel Mob.
Also by Hank Berrien
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2026-11-09 · The Daily Wire
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

Congress Democrat Israel New York Pennsylvania

Subjects

Shapiro PERSON · 10× Israel GPE · 4× Congress ORG · 3× Colorado GPE · 2× Democrat NORP · 2× Hegseth PERSON · 2× Josh Shapiro PERSON · 2× New York GPE · 2× Pennsylvania GPE · 2× War ORG · 1×

Narrative

Rather than condemn figures like NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, who had accused Israel of “apartheid” and “genocide,” or candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, who attended a Times Square rally the day after Hamas slaughtered 1,200 Israelis on October 7, Shapiro completely dodged.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-09
In July, with his eye on a future White House bid, Shapiro performed a giant tap dance on MS NOW when Willie Geist pressed him on the hard-Left taking over Democratic primaries in New York and Colorado.
2026-11-09 · The Daily Wire
Josh Shapiro Smears Hegseth As ‘Eight-Year-Old.’ But He Cowers Before His Party’s Anti-Israel Mob. · assertive framing

Claims (18 extracted, 1 hedged)

Pennsylvania Democrat Governor Josh Shapiro launched a vile, below-the-belt broadside against War Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday, telling Kristen Welker on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Hegseth is “like an eight-year-old playing with toy soldiers every day.” asserted
Hegseth → launch → soldiers
“He is someone who I think is making America less safe and there has to be real accountability,” Shapiro said. asserted
Shapiro → think → ?
“If the Congress determines that the best approach is impeachment, then they’ll do that. asserted
they → determine → that
It does seem, you’re closer to this than I am, it does seem that there is a growing consensus amongst not just Democrats but Republicans as well in the current Congress, not even the new Congress, that his time as defense secretary should be up.” asserted
time → seem → secretary
The ambitious Democrat apparently forgot that people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. asserted
people → forget → stones
While Shapiro talks a tough game against decorated veterans on Sunday morning talk shows, he turns into a total mouse the second he’s asked to stand up to the radical, anti-Israel zealots hijacking his own party. asserted
he → talk → party
For all his swagger, Shapiro has compiled an embarrassing track record of cowering whenever leftist extremists target the Jewish state. asserted
extremists → compile → state
In July, with his eye on a future White House bid, Shapiro performed a giant tap dance on MS NOW when Willie Geist pressed him on the hard-Left taking over Democratic primaries in New York and Colorado. asserted
Left → perform → York
Rather than condemn figures like NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, who had accused Israel of “apartheid” and “genocide,” or candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, who attended a Times Square rally the day after Hamas slaughtered 1,200 Israelis on October 7, Shapiro completely dodged. asserted
Shapiro → condemn → October
He didn’t utter a peep against New York radical Claire Valdez’s anti-Zionist rhetoric or Colorado socialist Melat Kiros demanding a total arms embargo on Israel. asserted
He → utter → Israel
Instead, Shapiro hid behind platitudes, babbling about Pennsylvania “pragmatism” and “getting stuff done.” asserted
stuff → hide → pragmatism
Passed over by Kamala Harris because she feared offending the party’s antisemitic wing, Shapiro dutifully took the stage at the Democratic National Convention like a good soldier. asserted
Shapiro → pass → soldier
He delivered a toothless speech that scrubbed out any mention of Israel or foreign policy altogether, clinging to vague slogans about “freedom” while ignoring how the Biden-Harris administration routinely slow-walked military aid to an ally under siege. asserted
administration → deliver → siege
President Donald Trump blasted Shapiro for selling out to appease party radicals. asserted
Trump → blast → radicals
“Shapiro has done nothing for Israel, and never will,” Trump posted on Truth Social in 2024. asserted
Trump → do → 2024
Shapiro might think taking cheap shots at Hegseth proves he’s ready for the national stage. uncertain
he → think → stage
But calling a military veteran an “eight-year-old playing with toy soldiers” won’t distract voters from the reality. asserted
calling → call → reality
When it comes to standing up to the bullies in his own backyard, Josh Shapiro folds every single time. asserted
Shapiro → come → backyard
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