After Maine Governor Janet Mills fired back at President Donald Trump during a meeting with other governors at the White House over compliance with his executive order banning transgender women and girls from competing in female sports, famed horror author Stephen King spoke out to praise her and slam Trump.
While discussing an executive order he signed earlier this month on the issue, Trump specifically called out Mills, continuing remarks he had made about her just a day earlier at the Republican Governors Association meeting.
He said, “Are you not going to comply with it?” to which she replied:
“I’m complying with state and federal laws."
Trump threatened her, saying:
"We are the federal law and you better do it otherwise you're not getting any federal funding at all if you don't. By the way, your population, even though it's somewhat liberal, I did very well there, and your population does not want men playing in women's sports. You better comply because otherwise you're not getting any federal funding."
She responded:
"We'll see you in court."
But Trump attacked her again:
“Good. I’ll see you in court. I’ll look forward to that. That should be a real easy one. And enjoy your life after, governor, because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.”
You can watch the exchange in the video below.
King, undoubtedly Maine's most famous citizen, soon responded to the clip, writing:
"Makes me proud to be a Maine man. Thank you, Governor, for standing up to the bully."
You can see his post below.
Many concurred.
The Maine Principals’ Association, responsible for overseeing high school sports statewide, announced earlier this month that it would maintain its policy allowing transgender female athletes to compete. Executive Director Mike Burnham affirmed the association’s commitment to following the Maine Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity.
Later on Friday, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights informed the state’s Department of Education that it was opening an investigation due to “allegations that it continues to allow male athletes to compete in girls’ interscholastic athletics,” calling this a breach of federal antidiscrimination law.
Mills responded by stating she would collaborate with the attorney general to defend Maine in court, adding that she believed Maine wouldn’t be the only state Trump would attempt to target.
She stressed that the clash "is not just about who can compete on the athletic field, this is about whether a President can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law that governs our nation."
@LauraLoomer/X
