Trump: Suspect in fire at Shapiro's home 'probably just a whack job'
Apr 14, 2025
President Trump on Monday said the attacker who set fire to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D) residence over the weekend "wasn't a fan of anybody" and was “probably just a whack job.”
"The attacker was not a fan of Trump, I understand, just from what I read and from what I've be
en told. The attacker basically wasn’t a fan of anybody, he was probably just a whack job," Trump said during remarks to the press when asked about the FBI investigation into the incident.
"And certainly a thing like that cannot be allowed to happen," the president added.
Shapiro said an arsonist set fire to the governor's residence in Harrisburg early Sunday morning. The fire caused “significant” damage, but the governor and his family were unharmed, according to the Pennsylvania State Police.
The suspect, identified as 38-year-old Cody Balmer of Harrisburg, admitted in an interview with troopers to “harboring hatred” toward Shapiro and said he would have “beaten him with his hammer” if there had been an encounter in the residence, court documents from the Dauphin County district attorney’s office indicate.
Among the charges, Balmer faces attempted murder, terrorism and aggravated arson.
Vice President Vance on Sunday called the incident “really disgusting violence.”
“Thanks be to God that Governor Shapiro and his family were unharmed in this attack,” Vance wrote in a post on the social platform X. “Really disgusting violence, and I hope whoever did it is brought swiftly to justice.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi also said she was “deeply relieved that Governor Shapiro and his family are safe, thankful for the first responders who arrived on the scene, and applaud the police work that resulted in an arrest just hours ago.”
Shapiro was notably among the contenders to join former Vice President Kamala Harris’s 2024 presidential ticket, and he is seen as a potential future White House candidate himself. ...read more read less