President Donald Trump demanded an apology from Maine Gov. Janet Mills over the weekend. He was angry about her refusal to follow his executive order banning trans athletes from girls sports.
Mills fired back on Monday. Speaking in Bangor, she said her stance is based on law, not politics.
"My issue is about the rule of law, pure and simple," Mills said. "It's not about transgender sports; it's about who makes the laws and who enforces the laws. I read the Constitution. The Constitution says that the president, the chief executive, shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. It doesn't allow him to make laws out of whole cloth by tweet or Instagram post or press release or executive order."
Mills didn’t stop there. She slammed Trump on abortion and tariffs without ever saying his name.
"We've seen policies that threaten women and girls across the country," she said. "If the current occupant of the White House wants to protect women and girls, he should start by protecting the women and teenage girls who are suffering miscarriages and dying because they can't get basic, life-saving healthcare in states across the country."
"Look, the issue isn't about transgender sports. People in Maine and across the country are waiting for an economic plan from the current occupant of the White House. And so far, we've seen none. We've seen tariffs and threats of tariffs that threaten our economy here in Maine and across the country."
Trump's demand came in a Truth Social post on Saturday. He claimed the state had already apologized but insisted Mills herself had not.
"While the State of Maine has apologized for their Governor’s strong, but totally incorrect, statement about men playing in women’s sports while at the White House Governor’s Conference, we have not heard from the Governor herself, and she is the one that matters in such cases," Trump posted.
"Therefore, we need a full throated apology from the Governor herself, and a statement that she will never make such an unlawful challenge to the Federal Government again, before this case can be settled. I’m sure she will be able to do that quite easily. Thank you for your attention to this matter and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!! DJT"
The clash began back in February. On the 20th, Trump threatened to cut off federal funding if Maine didn’t comply.
The next day, Mills’ office fired back. They threatened legal action if Trump followed through on the funding cut.
Things escalated quickly. The two confronted each other during a White House meeting with governors.
"Are you not going to comply with that?" Trump asked her.
"I'm complying with state and federal laws," she replied.
"Well, we are the federal law," Trump snapped.
"You better do it. You better do it because you're not going to get any federal funding at all if you don't," he warned. "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."
"We'll see you in court," Mills shot back.