Some Republicans are running as far and fast as they can away from Donald Trump, their presumptive presidential nominee. Maine Gov. Paul LePage is not one of them.
The outspoken governor said Wednesday that he's interested in serving in Trump's administration. And if he doesn't get a spot, he's still considering challenging Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) for his seat in 2018.
"I said earlier that if I'm not into the Trump administration, I will be running against Angus King," LePage said during a town hall meeting in Lewiston. "Now, don't tell my wife. She hasn't said yes yet."
“But what I have told Donald Trump is this: You know, I want to save the federal government some money … I want to do my part. So what about if I become the ambassador to Canada in the summer and Jamaica in the winter?" he joked.
LePage was a big backer of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R). When Christie dropped his presidential bid and endorsed Trump, LePage was the first official to switch teams along with him.
In February, The New York Times reported that at one point, LePage had been warning other governors that Trump would harm the Republican Party and encouraged them to distance themselves from him.
When someone at the town hall Wednesday night floated the possibility of being Trump's vice president, LePage laughed and said, "We're too much alike," according to the Portland Press Herald.
LePage, like Trump, is known for making offensive, eyebrow-raising comments. In January, he encouraged Maine residents to shoot drug dealers, who, he claimed, often come to the state with names like "D-Money" and "impregnate a young white girl before they leave." He has also warned about letting asylum-seekers into Maine because of the diseases they may bring in, such as the "ziki fly."
Editor's note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims -- 1.6 billion members of an entire religion -- from entering the U.S.
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