President Trump called Maine's Democratic Gov. Janet Mills a 'dictator' less than an hour into his trip to the state, complain...
President Trump called Maine's Democratic Gov. Janet Mills a 'dictator' less than an hour into his trip to the state, complaining that she should be reopening the state faster as the coronavirus threat lessens.
'Why is she not opening up your state?' Trump asked attendees of a roundtable on commercial fishing at an airport hangar in Bangor. 'She's like a dictator,' he uttered.
Trump could get away with his remark, having gone to a very friendly part of the state. As he arrived by Marine One in Guilford, the swab capital, lines of supporters were out to greet him, cheering and showing off their Trump-Pence flags and signs - with very little social distancing.
There were, of course, Black Lives Matter protesters too, but in much smaller numbers.
Trump marveled at the support as he walked around the Puritan swab factory, especially when several employees showed off red Trump shirts and a MAGA hat under their white protective suits and hairnets.
The Puritan Medical Products facility had use $75.7 million under the Defense Production Act to product swabs for COVID-19 testing.
President Trump was greeted by a friendly crowd in Maine - and called the state's Democratic governor a 'dictator.' Here he is pretending to test out a swab at Puritan Medical Products in Guilford, Maine
Several workers at the Puritan Medical Products swab factory showed off their Trump gear to the president during his four of the facility Friday
President Trump addressed employees at the Puritan Medical Products facility in Guilford, Maine on Friday
President Trump gestures during his swab factory tour Friday during a visit to Maine. He visited a Trump-friendly part of the state, where he was met with many more supporters than protesters
Hundreds of Trump supporters lined the motorcade route to welcome the president to Guilford, Maine. There were a number of Black Lives Matter protesters and their allies along the route too
On one intersection Black Loves Protesters and President Trump's supporters were clustered together along the president's motorcade route Friday in Guilford, Maine
Employees who came to watch Trump speak wore t-shirts that said ‘Saving the World One Swab at a Time.’
Their chairs were spaced out appropriately throughout a storage room, but several dozen came in at the last minute and huddled in close confines at the back of the room.
Most, however, were wearing masks.
A sign outside the room read, ‘Gloves and masks must be worn when production is in process.’
Trump, too, decided to violate social distancing rules. After one employee spoke he put his arm around her and gave her a squeeze.
'I'm not supposed to do that, but that's OK,' the president said.
Trump and Mills, the Democratic governor of Maine, have been at odds for days over his trip to the state.
She said in a statement Thursday that she wanted him to 'check his inflammatory rhetoric at the door,' as protests have broken out all across the country over the death of George Floyd.
The president didn't mention that criticism, instead focusing on her decisions about reopening the state.
On the tarmac in Bangor, Trump had been met by the state's former Republican Gov. Paul LePage who explained that Mills was afraid legions of tourists would bring coronavirus in.
'The problem is these three months are like your Christmas,' Trump said.
At the event with fishermen, Trump said Mills was 'playing cute' and that he was 'not a fan.'
Mills is currently on a plan that would allow tourists in - and not be in quarantine - if they could prove the tested negative recently of COVID-19.
At the fishermen event, Trump also floated the idea of having a trade war with the European Union over Maine lobster. 'If the European Union doesn't drop that tariff immediately, 'we're going to put a tariff on their cars, which would be equivalent,' Trump told the fishermen. 'It'll be equivalent, plus,' he continued, adding several additional plusses for enunciation.
President Trump called Maine's Democratic Gov. Janet Mills a 'dictator' for not opening her state up fast enough as the threat of coronavirus lessens
President Trump's first event in Maine Friday was a roundtable with commercial fishermen. He blasted Democratic Gov. Janet Mills for potentially ruining the state's summer tourism season
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills asked President Trump on Thursday to 'check his inflammatory rhetoric at the door' after telling him Monday on the phone that his travel to her state would cause 'security problems'
Sen. Susan Collins, the only Republican member of Congress from Maine, decided to stay in D.C. and not travel with President Trump. She faces a tough re-election fight against Democrat Sara Gideon in November
Protesters gathered in Augusta, Maine in mid-May to protest Democratic Gov. Janet Mills' stay-at-home order amid the coronavirus crisis. Demonstrators both for and against President Trump are expected out in Maine Friday
The state's Republican Sen. Susan Collins decided not to take the trip with Trump.
She's the only GOP member of Congress currently representing the state.
Collins told Maine Public Radio she'll be staying in Washington and holding a virtual fundraiser with Sen. John Thune Friday afternoon.
Collins, one of the Senate's most moderate Republicans, is facing a tough re-election fight, vying to keep her seat against Democrat Sara Gideon. The last poll, which was taken back in early March, showed Gideon slightly ahead by 4 points.
Trump performed well for a Republican in Maine in 2016, winning the state's 2nd Congressional earning him one electoral vote. He was the first Republican nominee to do so since George H.W. Bush in 1988.
But Collins' decision to not appear with him publicly showcases the fears moderate Senate Republicans facing re-election have, especially in light of Trump's controversial moves this week.
The president was widely criticized for his decision to walk across Lafayette park Monday night and pose with a Bible in front of St. John's chuch just minutes after a peaceful protest was dispersed by police using force.
But even before Trump made that move, he was at odds with Mills, who was on the president's call with governors earlier Monday.
She told the president that if he came to her state he would cause 'security problems.'
The president responded by telling Mills the White House would 'look into that,' adding that he would bring out 'a tremendous crowd' in the Democrat's state.
'She tried to talk me out of it. Now I think she probably talked me into it,' the president said on the call.
On Thursday, Mills issued a public warning to Trump.
'As the individual responsible for the health and safety of Maine people, including those who support and do not support the president, I again ask the president to check his inflammatory rhetoric at the door and abandon the divisive language that sows seeds of distrust among our people,' she said in a statement.
'I hope he will heed this call and appeal to the best in all people and lead us with courage and compassion through this difficult time,' the governor added.
She then urged demonstrators 'to exercise that fundamental right with respect and do so safely amid this deadly pandemic.'
Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden slammed Trump's handling of the coronavirus crisis in a Friday morning statement geared at the president's Maine trip.
'He’s now hoping we buy his revisionist history on his Administration’s incompetent and bungled response to this public health crisis,' Biden said. 'It’s a response that contributed to the deaths of 95 Mainers and has forced 168,000 Mainers to file for unemployment.'
No comments