With each passing day, Paul LePage is proving that he is the same divisive person he’s always been. LePage lacks the skills to bring Mainers together, to find consensus, and move our state forward.
This past week alone, LePage was criticized for: 1) lying about fentanyl in Maine; 2) lying about voter fraud; 3) calling into question the integrity of Maine’s elections; 4) lying about Maine’s strong economic recovery from the pandemic; and 5) threatening to “deck” a Maine Democratic Party staffer.
Just take a look at this quick roundup of stories:
He made national and international headlines for threatening violence against a Maine Democratic Party staffer
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The Daily Beast: Maine’s Trumpy Guv Candidate Threatens to ‘Deck’ Dem Staffer
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The Daily Mail: America's self-stylized 'Trump before Trump' Paul LePage threatens to 'deck' Democrat staffer who was filming him during campaign event in Maine
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Portland Press Herald: LePage threatens Democratic staffer filming him at campaign event
He got caught pushing false claims of voter fraud
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Maine Beacon: Audio shows LePage again making unsubstantiated claims about Maine elections
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Maine Public: LePage’s selective worries about voter fraud, explained
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Bangor Daily News: False Paul LePage claim shows a conservative balancing act on voting issue
And he got called out by voices across Maine for lies and threats
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Bangor Daily News opinion editor Susan Young: Call me skeptical, but it is hard to believe that the man who said he wanted to shoot my colleague, who called a Democratic lawmaker a “socialist c***sucker” and later said he wanted to have a “gun duel” with him, who laughed about wanting to blow up the Portland Press Herald building, who fantasized about bringing back guillotines – the list goes on and on – has really changed. It’s true that Paul LePage is not like most people. Most people don’t threaten to harm others on such a regular basis.
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Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows: Lies about elections are at the root of the rise in violence against election officials. It needs to stop.
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Maine Democratic Party Chair Drew Gattine: Paul LePage was, is, and always will be a bully. When he was governor, he often threatened people with violence and with the power of his office—I saw it firsthand. This latest threatening outburst just goes to show that he’s the same as he’s always been. Maine people deserve better than Paul LePage and his hatred and division.
As the election gets closer and closer, it’s becoming clearer and clearer that no matter how many times he says he’s changed, he’s still the same old Paul LePage.