Westbrook, MAINE – Republican Governor Paul LePage is defending Republican Waterville Mayor Nick Isgro who verbally attacked Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg on twitter by telling him to “eat it.” LePage yesterday sent a letter to the CEO of Skowhegan Savings Bank, who dismissed Isgro from his job over his comments, saying that he had “fallen pray [sic] to the leftist hate ideology that refuses to recognize free speech.”
Maine Democratic Party Chairman Phil Bartlett issued the following statement in response:
“Mayor Isgro verbally attacked the survivor of a school shooting and refuses to apologize for it, but rather than take a stand for decency and express disappointment with Isgro, Governor LePage misdirects his anger at a bank.
“This is just another sad reminder of how extreme the Maine Republican Party has become under Paul LePage and how backwards his priorities are. Governor LePage should spend his time standing up for low-income Mainers by expanding Medicaid instead of standing up for a mayor who attacks young people and has a long history of embarrassing his city online.”
Two days ago, Republican Mayor Nick Isgro finally broke his silence by issuing a public statement that did not offer an apology or show any kind of remorse. Instead, it lashed out at his constituents who are spearheading an effort to recall him and doubled-down on a litany of the far-right’s most pervasive conspiracy theories, saying that the “media”, “wealthy political elites” and “dark money funded outsiders” are the problem.
Mayor Isgro also continued to lash out last night, telling a Morning Sentinel reporter that she is “fake news” and calling Waterville City Councilors “absolutely non-respondent and elitist.”
Mayor Isgro’s tweet telling David Hogg to “eat it” is actually one in a long line of aggressive and often bigoted social media statements he has made, as documented by the Maine Beacon.
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