Maine Guv Phones Reporter: ‘This Is The Commander In Chief’ Of Nat’l Guard

Gov. Paul LePage speaks at the Maine Republican Convention, Saturday, April 26, 2014, in Bangor, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

After reading about reports of a reorganization imminent for a portion of the Maine Army National guard in the local paper, Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) called the reporter, introducing himself as the “commander in chief” of the military branch.

Here’s what happened: LePage called a reporter for the Portland Press Herald on Wednesday afternoon about Maine’s 133rd Engineer Battalion being reassigned to Pennsylvania, which LePage said he didn’t know about before the Press Herald published a report on the story.

LePage started the short call by saying “This is the commander in chief of the Maine National Guard,” according to the Press Herald. LePage said he didn’t know about the reassignment and asked for the reporter’s source. He didn’t get it though.

“Well, it didn’t come from the Maine National Guard,” LePage said. That’s when LePage hung up.

The call lasted about a minute.

Latest Livewire
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: