Trump, Maine Governor Spar Over Males in Female Sports: ‘We are the Federal Law’
President Donald Trump stood his ground when going head to head with Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) over his executive order that bans males from female sports.
At the National Governors Session, Trump called out Maine since the state won’t follow the order:
TRUMP: “Is the Maine here, the governor of Maine?”MILLS: “I am here.”TRUMP: “Are you not going to comply with it?”MILLS: “I’m complying with state and federal laws.”TRUMP: “Well, I’m — we are the federal law. Well, you better do it. You better do it, because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t. And by the way, your population even though it’s somewhat liberal although I did very well there, your population doesn’t want men playing in women’s sports. So you better — you better comply because otherwise you’re not getting any — any federal funding.”MILLS: “See you in court.”TRUMP: “Every state — good, I’ll see you in court. I look forward to that.”
Mills and other Maine officials responded. From The Maine Morning Star:
In a statement shared early Friday, Mills said “the State of Maine will not be intimidated by the president’s threats.”“If the president attempts to unilaterally deprive Maine school children of the benefit of federal funding, my administration and the attorney general will take all appropriate and necessary legal action to restore that funding and the academic opportunity it provides,” Mills said.Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey said any attempt by the president to cut federal funding to Maine over the issue “would be illegal and in direct violation of federal court orders.” “Fortunately,” Frey wrote in a statement, “the rule of law still applies in this country, and I will do everything in my power to defend Maine’s laws and block efforts by the president to bully and threaten us.”He added, “It is disturbing that President Trump would use children as pawns in advancing his political agenda.”
On Thursday, during an address to the Republican governors, Trump asked if anyone was from Maine.
“They are still saying they want men to play in women’s sports and I cannot believe that they are doing that…so we’re not gonna give them any federal funding until they clean that up,” Trump told them, according to The Daily Mail.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY