Standing firm on his effort to get men out of women’s sports, President Trump threw down with Maine Governor Janet Mills, who said she wouldn’t comply.
Trump’s mention of the ban led to an epic exchange between the Governor and the President at a White House meeting of the National Governors Association.
“Two weeks ago, l signed an Executive Order banning men from playing in women’s sports,” Trump said as part of his prepared remarks. Then he went off script. “Many Democrats are fighting me on that. I hope you continue because you’ll never win another race. And it’s just crazy.”
According to the President, “The NCAA has complied immediately. But l understand Maine—Is the governor of Maine here?—Are you not going to comply with it?”
“I’m complying with state and federal laws,” Mills replied, to which Trump rejoined, “I’m—We are the federal law.”
The President then warned: “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 comply because otherwise, you’re not getting any federal funding.”
“See you in court,” Mills answered.
“Good. I look forward to that; that should be a real easy one,” Trump retorted. “And enjoy your life after governor because l don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.”
The President explained, "Every state has a responsibility to comply with Title 9, a legal obligation, and we’ll be enforcing aggressively, and we’re going to be protecting our citizens. We’re going to protect the women.”
“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 in a statement following the White House exchange. “The State of Maine will not be intimidated by the President’s threats.”
Witnessing the exchange was Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. “He’s on the right side of this issue. I’m so tired of hearing the left say that they care about women when they can’t even tell you what a woman is,” she said. “And we finally have a president who will stand up for women and will fight back. He’s right to call people out who are on the wrong side.”
It was “classic Donald Trump,” Huckabee-Sanders continued. “If he doesn’t like something, he’s going to call it out. It’s one of the things that has made him so incredibly popular and one of the reasons he’s been able to get so much done.”
Many of Trump’s actions, including empowering a Department of Government Efficiency to weed out Washington waste, cutting the federal workforce, and declaring a national emergency at the border, are being challenged in court by the Democrats. Trump is confident in his legal authority and believes the lawsuits will result in decisions that strengthen the power of the presidency.