Petulant Trump Demands Groveling From Governor Who Stood Up to Him

President Donald Trump suggested he would continue to punish Maine until the state’s governor offers a “full throated apology” for standing up to him on trans rights, and promises never to “challenge” him again.

Gov. Janet Mills went viral after she took on Trump in a fiery verbal exchange at a meeting of the National Governors Association last month. After the president called her out for not complying with an executive order against transgender athletes, Mills retorted, “We’ll see you in court.”

On Saturday, Trump—who has sicced multiple federal agencies on Maine in retaliation—took to Truth Social to demand that Mills grovel.

“While the State of Maine has apologized for their Governor’s strong, but totally incorrect, statement about men playing in women’s sports while at the White House House Governor’s Conference, we have not heard from the Governor herself, and she is the one that matters in such cases,” the president wrote. “Therefore, we need a full throated apology from the Governor herself, and a statement that she will never make such an unlawful challenge to the Federal Government again, before this case can be settled.”

It was not clear what apology from Maine Trump was referring to in the post. The White House did not respond to the Daily Beast’s request for clarification.

Mills’ office has not issued a response and did not respond to a request for comment from the Beast.

Mills’ decision to stand up to Trump had earned the governor praise from the president’s critics.

The exchange, which happened on Feb. 21, began when Trump asked Mills if her state would comply with his executive order banning trans women athletes from competing on sports teams that match their gender. High schools in Maine had indicated they would not follow Trump’s ban.

“I’m complying with state and federal law,” Mills, a Democrat, responded.

Trump countered with a threat: “We are the federal law. You better do it because you’re not gonna get any federal funding at all if you don’t.”

“See you in court,” Mills fired back.

Trump told her the legal battle would be a “real easy one,” and added: “Enjoy your life after governor because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.”

Trump finally made good on his promise to retaliate earlier this month. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) briefly paused all funding for the University of Maine, the state’s public university system, as it investigated violations of Trump’s trans athlete ban. The state backpedaled after two days, though, and earlier this week, the administration cleared the school.

However, the USDA’s statement announcing that the school was in the clear gave a warning in bold letters: “The choice for the rest of Maine is simple: protect equal opportunities for women, as required by law, or lose funding.”

Trump’s revenge campaign didn’t end there, however.

Maine’s department of education has faced an investigation from the federal Department of Education’s (DOE) civil rights office—which was launched the same day that Mills traded verbal blows with the president.

The DOE announced on Wednesday that it had found that the state department had violated Title IX by not telling its school districts to comply with Trump’s ban. Maine was ordered to fall in line within 10 days or face the threat of legal retaliation from the Justice Department.

Trump has also taken action against universities over the ban on trans athletes. Earlier this week, the White House paused $175 million in funding to the University of Pennsylvania while the DOE civil rights office investigated a trans star swimmer, Lia Thomas, who graduated in 2022.

In February, the National Collegiate Athletic Association bowed under pressure from Trump and altered its policy to exclude trans women from women’s teams.