In a fairly confined space, surrounded by a lot of other governors who either fear or idolize Donald Trump, Maine Gov. Janet Mills was openly defiant toward the would-be king Donnie.
This is not an easy thing. A U.S. president can be intimidating under the best of circumstances, and these aren’t the best circumstances because Trump is unhinged and largely unrestrained by the other branches of government that are supposed to be coequal with the executive branch.
It also isn’t easy as a woman facing down a man who routinely has demeaned and devalued women—hell, he literally stalked around Hillary Clinton during a debate and stared at her menacingly instead of behaving like a reasonable fucking human debater.
And again, many of the other governors at that White House meeting are on Trump’s side or at least complying with him out of fear.
Yet when Trump singled out Mills at the meeting for her refusal to bow to his executive order calling on transgender student athletes from being barred from female teams, she stood her ground.
She’s not the first governor to stand up to Trump, certainly. The governors of California and Illinois has famously clashed with the president since he took office, and the governor of New York seems to be losing her desire to try to work with the president recently and instead directly challenge him. But again, in a confined room with cameras present and a president threatening you and your state…
…well, I’m proud of Mills. In my 23 years in Maine it’s been a mixed bag at times, with Gov. Paul LePage during his term emulating Trump’s first-presidency behaviors and even acting more dictatorial and unhinged at times—I often said that he was showing us what Trump would become on a national scale eventually.
One never knows if resistance from other elected officials will last, but I feel buoyed by Mill’s challenge that she’ll see Trump in court and to say that she would uphold state and federal law—and let’s remember, executive orders are not laws. And she and the state’s attorney general stand strong right now even as Trump’s administration retaliates with a federal investigation.
How will it all shake out? Who knows. But what’s important here is resistance. I run an organization that is focused on issues around grassroots mobilization. True change comes from the grassroots—the people at large rallying together and standing together for positive change.
But in a sense, Mill’s defiance and that of other governors is also a kind of grassroots resistance writ large. The states make up the foundation of this country. The governors lead them. And state resistance to unjust federal control and manipulation and abuse is, in a sense then, grassroots resistance on a more stepped-up scale.
I like to hope that seeing examples of this kind of resistance will also help energize and strengthen true popular grassroots resistance. Times are hard right now, and scary, and people need to see that at least some of their leaders are standing against the man who would be king of the country. I’m proud of Mills in this moment, and I’m proud of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (as someone born and raised in Chicago myself) and I’m proud of every elected official pushing back (unlike the largely cowardly ones on Capitol Hill). Now we need to see more of them.
Because that’s what grassroots resistance is: Growing new roots and new plants and spreading to make the change we need.
If this piece resonated with you, please consider a tip, or become a monthly patron, if you aren’t already. I offer my work freely, to ensure that it is accessible to all but if you have the means to support it, please do so. Remember, I do work with groups and organizations, if you want to work with me, please reach out for details.
Image by Michael Denning via Unsplash
