Something happened at the White House Friday afternoon that almost never happens these days. Somebody defied President Trump. Right to his face.
He was about an hour into a meeting with a bipartisan group of governors when he suddenly remembered that the leaders of Maine had been resisting an executive order he signed banning transgender athletes from women’s sports.
“Is Maine here?” he wondered aloud. “The governor of Maine?”
“Yeah,” Gov. Janet Mills answered from across the room. “I’m here.”
Referring to the executive order, Mr. Trump asked, “Are you not going to comply with that?”
“I’m complying with the state and federal laws,” she said, rather pointedly.
Mr. Trump replied that “we are the federal law” and said that “you better do it” or else he would withhold funding from her state. He reminded her that public opinion was overwhelmingly on his side on this issue. (A poll from The New York Times and Ipsos last month found that just 18 percent of Americans believe transgender female athletes — those who were male at birth — should be allowed to compete in women’s sports.) He warned again: “You better comply, you better comply, because otherwise you’re not getting any federal funding.”
“See you in court,” she shot back.
“Good,” he said, sounding surly. “I’ll see you in court. I look forward to that. That should be a real easy one.” He paused and then added, “and enjoy your life after governor, because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.”
It was a fleeting back and forth, but Ms. Mills’s moment of defiance came at a time when Democrats have struggled to find any coherent or effective way to stand up to this president.
One month into his second term, Mr. Trump has called himself a king, with the White House posting a depiction of the president wearing a crown, and the Republican leaders of Congress have happily ceded their power to him.
The standoff between the administration and Maine’s leaders continued to escalate Friday. Shortly after Ms. Mills’s exchange with the president, the U.S. Department of Education sent a letter to the state’s education commissioner, Pender Makin, notifying her that it was initiating a “directed investigation” of Maine’s Education Department. The letter singled out one school in particular, citing reports that it had allowed “at least one male student to complete in girls’ categories.”
Hawaii’s Democratic governor, Josh Green, was at the meeting at the White House, too. “Several of the governors I talked to were a little bit distressed by that back and forth,” he said afterward, “because it seemed it was a little bit harsh — and it wasn’t yelling, but it was unnecessary conflict.”
It was just “a moment,” he added, “but she stood firm against him.”
Reid J. Epstein contributed reporting.
