Right on cue as the political weaponization of measles cases in the U.S. heats up, 2028 Democrat presidential contender Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has decided he’s going to highlight two alleged measles deaths in his state while blaming the Trump administration. He’s doing this while local and federal health officials are scratching their heads as they look for proof that two people have actually died of measles in Lancaster County.
Still, Shapiro can count on the likes of the New York Times and the Washington Post, and the entire legacy media to just accept what he says at face value.
“Outbreaks have popped up all over the country,” the Times reported. “Lancaster County, Pa., where both patients lived, has been at the center of an outbreak that has so far hospitalized 70 people and infected more than 390, a third of whom were children. Some public health experts believe this number to be a vast undercount because the area is home to large Mennonite and Amish communities that tend to avoid traditional health care.”
The Shapiro administration has refused to reveal some of the most basic details about the supposed casualties, such as age, sex, location, and whether they were members of the Mennonite and Amish communities or illegal aliens. On that score, Pennsylvania health officials who answer to the presidential wannabe are blaming “privacy concerns” for their refusal to be more forthcoming. You have to know that when a Democratic administration is withholding this sort of information, it's likely because the information would not help its case.
While it is, for the moment, impossible to say that there were no measles deaths in Lancaster County, County Coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni has said, “No measles deaths were handled by our office.” He said that his office is investigating one infant death involving a positive measles test, but it’s not clear whether that is related in any way to the two cases Shapiro is trying to hang around the necks of President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Gov. Josh Shapiro Rips RFK Jr & Trump Following the Two Measles Deaths in Pennsylvania
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) August 26, 2026
“His actions and the rhetoric that's coming from this administration are having a negative impact … Sharing conspiracy theories and misinformation does not help the cause of public health.” pic.twitter.com/xjqlCjZ9f2
PR staging style note: Shapiro’s not that tall. The clip above reflects the media’s continued efforts to make him look taller through convenient camera angles and by cropping out the staging used to enhance his height.
In the course of his remarks, Shapiro did not express as much concern for the measles patients as he did try to make political points over the alleged deaths by pointing the finger at Kennedy, who he actually acknowledged had called him to offer federal help. Rather than graciously accepting that help or politely declining it, he chose instead to reframe the conversation as a means of attacking Kennedy. So much for gratitude and coming together in the interest of public health.
Somehow, Shapiro has found a way to say that he declined Kennedy’s offer because “we think we’re able to manage this through the Department of Public Health,” while simultaneously trying to paint the whole situation as out of control and the fault of both Trump and Kennedy. So, which is it, Gov. Shapiro? Can you handle this measles outbreak in your own state or not? If you’re going to blame the federal government for the problem, don’t you think you’re kind of admitting that your administration can’t handle the situation on its own and needs the help? Or, if you really do think your health department can handle the problem, aren’t you admitting that it was your administration that didn’t work more effectively to mitigate the spread of the disease? Both things can’t be true at once.
Still, as they say, there are at least two sides to every story.
"We're trying to get information about those two casualties," Kennedy told reporters. "According to a statement that was released by the Lancaster County Commissioner today, they cannot find any measles deaths in Lancaster County, and they complained that the governor will not give them that information. The CDC tried to get that information from the governor yesterday, and the state is refusing to cooperate."
So there is no proof of two measles deaths in Pennsylvania…
— Anna Matson (@AnnaRMatson) August 26, 2026
The county can’t find any recorded measles deaths and the governor refuses to release information to the CDC. pic.twitter.com/nMvMeVlXax
Kennedy may have misspoken when he said the Lancaster County commissioner could not find records of measles deaths. It appears he was actually referring to the county coroner, Diamantoni.
As for the finger-pointing, it’s not entirely coincidental that certain diseases that were thought to have been eradicated on U.S. soil have reemerged at the same time that we saw a dramatic influx of millions of untracked people from the Third World over a period of four years under the Joe Biden administration. Kennedy alluded to as much.
It’s very possible that amid all of Shapiro's political posturing, two people did die from measles in Lancaster County, and that in the days to come, we’ll learn more information. But Shapiro's not making that easy.
It’s not like that information is unavailable now. No one is asking to dox the patients’ families, and Shapiro doesn’t even have to reveal names. As an elected official who’s gone so far as to hold a press conference on the matter, he owes it to the public to be far more forthcoming with the basic details surrounding the alleged cases. He and his administration should at the very least turn over all the information they have on the measles outbreak and the casualties to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Kennedy says Shapiro isn't doing that.
If Shapiro truly cared about public health, as he says he does, why withhold information from the federal government at a time when that information could potentially help save lives? Is it because he doesn’t really care about public health?
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