Two days after the election, California Gov. Gavin Newsom called for a special legislative session focused on “Trump-proofing” the state from the onslaught of expected attacks on a host of issues including reproductive rights, the environment, and immigrants.

“We won’t sit idle,” said Newsom, as lawmakers have proposed funding for lawsuits, electric vehicle rebates, and disaster relief funds.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker likewise vowed to take proactive steps to shore up abortion rights and other laws, while issuing a stern warning regarding any attempts to deport migrants: “You come for my people, you come through me.”

By contrast, Gov. Josh Shapiro has struck a more muted tone, calling for unity.

“Now that his election is over, it is time to govern — to work together, to compromise, and to get stuff done,” he said in a statement following the election results.

Shapiro added he would continue to “defend our democracy” and “fundamental rights” while ensuring the commonwealth is “welcoming for all.”

That’s all well and good, but that is not what Donald Trump has planned.

The president-elect wants to radically remake the government, prosecute political enemies, deport millions of immigrants, and fight the “enemy within.”

Of course, Newsom and Pritzker represent solidly blue states, so they can afford to be more forceful than Shapiro, who represents a swing state and must work with a divided legislature in a state Trump won with 50.4% of the vote.

Shapiro, Newsom, and Pritzker are each said to hold presidential aspirations, so their actions and words will be watched closely. But the style and substance of all three governors — and other elected officials — will likely be tested once Trump takes office again. How they defend against Trump’s extreme measures will directly impact people’s lives.

The good news for Pennsylvanians worried Shapiro has gone wobbly is that he has a solid record of defending individual, reproductive, and voting rights.

In 2017, just after taking office as attorney general, Shapiro joined a coalition of state attorneys general who opposed Trump’s travel ban on people entering the U.S. from Muslim-majority countries.

Three years later, Shapiro successfully defended dozens of lawsuits Trump filed before and after Election Day in his widespread attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential outcome.

After he was elected governor in 2022, Shapiro appointed Al Schmidt, a Republican election official from Philadelphia, to oversee state elections, and launched an election integrity task force to protect voting rights and free elections.

Shapiro ended state funding for 27 pregnancy centers that advocates said used deceptive practices to steer women away from abortions. His administration launched a website that outlined access to abortion services in Pennsylvania, including for individuals traveling from states that made the procedure virtually illegal.

Shapiro and other sworn guardians of the Constitution are going to be tested if Trump and his reckless band of unqualified cabinet nominees follow through on plans to slash spending, fire federal workers, trample the rule of law, destroy public health, undo climate change initiatives, and implement their white Christian nationalist agenda.

Still, as Mike Tyson famously said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Shapiro should be more proactive and not risk being knocked out.

The same goes for Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, who has refused to affirm Philadelphia’s status as a sanctuary city that would resist federal efforts to deport immigrants — leaving vulnerable residents who pay wage taxes scared and nervous.

Instead of a strong stance opposing Trump’s deportation plans and other proposals that would target cities, Parker has so far taken a “see no evil” approach as she largely rehashed year-old campaign themes to make Philadelphia “safer, cleaner, and greener.”

“We are laser-focused on the work ahead,” Parker yada yada-ed in a speech after the election.

In the same speech, Parker didn’t mention Trump’s name and made no reference to safeguarding individual rights, let alone protecting the 47,000 undocumented people in the city from deportation. She has refused to speak up as immigrant groups have pressed her to take a firmer stand.

By contrast, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu vowed to fight Trump’s deportation plan. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city would not help federal agents deport immigrants.

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston went one step further, suggesting he could station police officers at the county line to block immigration officers from carrying out mass deportations.

Even lower-level officials in other cities are stepping up. The Los Angeles City Council approved a “sanctuary city” policy, while Chicago lawmakers are working with grassroots organizations to train residents how to engage in civil disobedience and to inform the public of their constitutional rights.

Likewise, school boards in other big cities, such as Los Angeles and Chicago, made sure to reaffirm protections for immigrant students and the LGBTQ community. Yet in Philadelphia, even before Trump was elected, an advocacy group said immigrant students were not getting adequate support.

To his credit, one of former Mayor Jim Kenney’s first official acts was to issue an executive order reinstating Philadelphia as a sanctuary city. Kenney took steps to protect immigrants during Trump’s previous term and refused to back down from efforts to cut off federal funding from sanctuary cities.

After a federal judge ruled in 2018 that the U.S. Department of Justice’s efforts to block federal funding from the city violated the Constitution, Kenney did a happy dance.

During his tenure, Kenney repeatedly stood up to Trump and forcefully called out his reckless policies and dangerous rhetoric. As Trump worked to overturn the 2020 election, Kenney told him to “put his big boy pants on” and accept defeat.

Many appreciated that Kenney had their back and would not be bullied.

During Trump’s previous term, there were cuts in funding to blue states along with a spike in hate crimes as antisemitism, racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and homophobia increased. The next four years look to be much worse as Trump takes the country into uncharted territory.

This is no time to ignore the gathering storm. We need fearless leaders willing to stand up to a wannabe dictator.

It is fine to hope for the best, but there must also be a plan for the worst.

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