Source: Washington Post
by Philip Bump
“Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) made headlines by challenging — to Trump’s face — his insistence that her state acquiesce to an executive order focused on trans athletes. Trump became visibly angry, insisting that Mills’s political career was likely over. In short order, the Trump administration announced that the state was in violation of a statute focused on discrimination. Schools that are part of the University of Maine had funding blocked, prompting the university system to announce its compliance with the executive order. For Trump, though, that victory was not enough. … Trump had won the policy fight, such as it was. But it wasn’t a victory in his eyes until the person who dared to challenge him had admitted that she was wrong and he was right. … The most essential element to Trump’s deployment of power is his own insecurity.” (03/24/25)