Paul LePage: Trumpism in office

“I GET a kick out of him,” said Bob Choiniere, about Paul LePage, Maine’s outspoken Republican governor. “He’s just saying what we all think, right?” Mr Choiniere sat at the counter of Simones’ hot dog stand in Lewiston, a perennial stop for anyone running for office in Maine, no matter what their party. Mr LePage had just stopped by with Donald Trump junior, son of the Republican nominee, in town campaigning in the state’s second congressional district, where the presidential race is tightly contested. The governor has been a vocal supporter of the elder Mr Trump, who has promised the term-limited Mr LePage a place in his administration, if elected. The two men are both hot-headed, blunt and happily rub people the wrong way. Mr LePage sees the similarity, too: he has described himself as “Donald Trump before Donald Trump became popular”.

What happens when a Trumpian politician has to govern? Mr LePage triumphed, just, in a three-way race in 2010. Mere weeks after he took office, bumper stickers were spotted on the state’s roads noting that 61% of Mainers did not vote for their governor. Lance Dutson, a Republican political...Continue reading

Source: United States http://ift.tt/2eiMfsh

Share this

Related Posts

Previous
Next Post »