Last week, Paul LePage appeared in an interview with NewsCenter Maine where he claimed that he has changed, emphasizing “respect” and “civil discourse,” and that he asked Governor Mills to make sure this is a “clean” campaign, focused on policy.
But LePage’s actions don’t line up with his words. He has repeatedly appeared on conservative radio stations since announcing his campaign to launch personal attacks and make demeaning comments about Governor Mills, including a remark where he disregarded her experience as a survivor of domestic violence.
The Ray Richardson Show, 2/4/22 (full interview here):
Paul LePage: “...she doesn't understand that because she's never lived it, she's lived a pretty, you know, elite life. She's never been in the poverty of generational poverty. The domestic violence that's happening in some of these poor families is the cause. I've experienced it, I've lived it, and she's doing nothing about it.”
George Hale Ric Tyler Show, 2/17/22 (full interview here):
Ric Tyler: “News accounts tell us that the Governor Mills reaction to that was well the future is uncertain. Now's not the time to make such a bold move as to cut the income tax.”
Paul LePage: “Well, my response to that is, sweetie, you got $14.7 billion of Uncle Joe's money. It's time.”
Since announcing his campaign last summer, LePage and Maine Republican Party staff have also smeared Mills as a “socialist” “career politician” who only “cares about getting money.”
“Paul LePage is talking out of both sides of his mouth. While he claims he’s changed in one breath, in the very next he’s attacking and demeaning Governor Mills,” said Drew Gattine, Chair of the Maine Democratic Party. “The bottom-line is that LePage hasn’t changed a bit, and that’s exactly why we can’t let him take us backward.”
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