President Trump is demanding a “full throat apology” from Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) after opposing the president's executive order to let men leave women's sports.
In February, Trump and Mills sparred at the White House Governors meeting over the president's executive order entitled “No men in women's sports.” The order could result in a federal loss of funds if state universities try to ignore or avoid it.
After challenging Mills about whether Trump intended to implement the order, she mentioned the state's current laws allowing trans-athletes to participate, telling the president that he “see you in court.” Trump replied, “You're not going to get federal funds, so you'd better do that.”
Trump maintained his promise to withhold federal funds. In March, after an investigation, the Department of Agriculture announced a suspension of $175 million in funding for the state. The University of Maine System (USM) tolerated and adhered to Trump's orders, and funds quickly recovered.
The USDA has announced a policy reversal for Maine.
“After the USDA launched a Title IX compliance review on federal funding, the University of Maine System (UMAINE) has clearly communicated the requirements for Title IX for women and girls to compete in safe and fair sports, as clearly stated in President Donald J. Trump's executive order.
“The decision to taste Umaine's sanity is a victory for women and girls in Maine.”
But Maine's surrender to the executive order does not mean that Trump is still going on with them.
In a true social message posted Saturday, Trump requested that Governor Mills personally issue a “full throat apology” for “an illegal challenge to the federal government.”
“Maine apologised at a White House Governor's meeting for the governor's strong but completely wrong about the man playing women's sports, but he has never heard of it from the governor himself, and she is important in such cases,” Trump wrote.
“Therefore, we need a full throat apology from the governor herself and a statement that she will never again challenge the federal government such an illegal way before solving this case. I am sure she can do it very easily.
Gov. Mills has yet to say whether she will apologize.
