Maine's Governor Mills Clashes with Trump Over Transgender Athletes, Turns Dispute into Fundraising Gold

Maine's Gov. Janet Mills is leveraging her recent high-profile squabble with former President Donald Trump over transgender athletes in her state. The clash erupted after Trump threatened to withhold federal funding unless Maine enforced stricter rules on transgender women competing in women's sports.

The face-off occurred last Friday at the White House, following Trump's declaration that Maine would face financial repercussions for not preventing biological males identifying as transgender from participating in women's sports. I mean, who brings up funding cuts at a meeting of governors?

"We're going to follow the law, sir. We'll see you in court," Mills retorted when Trump pressed her on compliance. Trump, never one to back down, fired back, "Enjoy your life after governor, because I don't think you'll be an elected official afterward." Ouch, that's gotta sting!

Following this exchange, Mills' team wasted no time, firing off fundraising texts to Maine residents, referencing the nationally televised showdown. According to a Maine state representative who spoke with Fox News Digital, the message highlighted Trump's threat to deny federal funding to Maine schools unless they aligned with his demands.

"On Friday at a bipartisan meeting of governors, Donald Trump threatened to deny Maine school children federal funding unless we fall in line with his personal demands," the text read. "He even stated that he was ‘the law,’ never mind Congress or the states. I told him we'd see him in court."

Mills' message emphasized that while Trump had campaigned on lowering costs for everyday Americans, he was now allegedly using his power to "punish his enemies."

"I want to make one thing clear: Maine will not be intimidated by the president's threats," the campaign continued. "The work to push back against Trump and his agenda begins at the state level. Can you donate $10 to the Maine Democratic Party to make sure they have the resources to fight for our state?"

The controversy unfolds as a transgender woman, who competed as a man until recently, secured first place in the women's pole vault at Maine's Class B state indoor championship the same week.

The Maine Principal's Association, the state's governing body for high school athletics, has affirmed its stance of not adhering to Trump's executive order. Instead, they will adhere to state law, which prohibits determining athletic eligibility based on gender identity.

Civil rights attorney Sarah Perry, specializing in Title IX litigation, points out that Maine is also disregarding directives from the Department of Education and past legal precedents challenging President Biden's Title IX regulations, which allowed athletic eligibility to be determined by one's preferred gender identity.

"Within six weeks [after Biden's Title IX ruling] we had 11 federal lawsuits brought by 26 states, in addition to a handful of others – the Biden administration has lost every time," Perry stated.

Perry also noted that besides the risk of losing funding, non-compliant states could face federal Title IX investigations, potentially forcing them to comply with Trump's demands.

Fox News Digital reports that they attempted to contact the governor's office for comment but received no response.