President Donald Trump clashed with Democratic Gov. Janet Mills of Maine over biological men playing women’s sports during a White House event Friday.
Trump signed an executive order barring federal funds from schools that allow men who identify as transgender women to play in women’s sports Feb. 5. Trump and Mills sparred during his remarks Friday at the Governors’ Working Session over the state’s opposition to the order after he discussed the participation of a biological men who competed in women’s boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“The NCAA has complied immediately, by the way, that’s good, but I understand Maine — is Maine here, the governor of Maine?” Trump asked during the speech, with Mills responding, “I’m back here.”
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“Are you not going to comply with it?” Trump asked, referring to the order, with Mills claiming that she would abide by “state and federal law.”
The Department of Education announced it was opening a Title IX investigation into Maine following Trump’s clash with Mills.
“Maine would have you believe that it has no choice in how it treats women and girls in athletics – that is, that it must follow its state laws and allow male athletes to compete against women and girls,” acting assistant secretary for civil rights Craig Trainor said in a statement released by the Department of Education. “Let me be clear: If Maine wants to continue to receive federal funds from the Education Department, it has to follow Title IX. If it wants to forgo federal funds and continue to trample the rights of its young female athletes, that, too, is its choice. OCR will do everything in its power to ensure taxpayers are not funding blatant civil rights violators.”
The Maine Principal’s Association announced that biological men would still be allowed to compete in women’s sports on Feb. 7. A biological male won Maine’s state pole-vaulting championship in women’s track and field after finishing fifth in men’s track and field the previous year.
“Well, we are the federal law. You better do it because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t,” Trump told Mills. “And by the way, your population, even though it’s somewhat liberal, although I did very well there, your population doesn’t want men playing in women’s sports. so you better, you’d better comply because otherwise you’re not getting any, any federal funding.”
“We’ll see you in court,” Mills said, with Trump responding, “Good! I’ll see you in court. I look forward to that. That should be a really easy one.”
Trump also predicted Mills’ stance might hurt her in future elections.
“Enjoy your life after governor, because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics,” Trump said.
Trump said he supported banning biological men from competing in women’s sports during an Oct. 16 town hall moderated by Fox News host Harris Faulkner.
The issue of biological males who identify as transgender competing in women’s sports became a much debated issue following Lia Thomas’s participation in the 2022 NCAA championships, where the biological male won the 500-yard women’s final.
Multiple college teams elected to forfeit matches against San Jose State University’s women’s volleyball team due to the presence of a biological male on the San Jose State roster, according to the Los Angeles Times. The transgender player spiked a ball into the face of a San Diego State University player during an Oct. 10 match, the New York Post reported.
North Carolina high school volleyball player Payton McNabb suffered a career-ending concussion when a transgender player’s spike hit her in the face in a similar play during a September 2022 volleyball match, and described ongoing medical symptoms in legislative testimony she gave in April 2023.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include that the Trump administration is investigating Maine for possible Title IX violations.
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