Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) announced on Wednesday that he will not vote for President Trump in next month’s presidential election.
In a statement issued Wednesday afternoon, Lizzy Guyton, Baker’s communications director, said that the Massachusetts governor “cannot support” the President’s re-election campaign and is “focused on seeing” the state through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“He’ll leave the election analysis to the pundits,” Guyton said in the statement, which did not indicate that Baker will vote for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden instead.
The statement came shortly after the Massachusetts governor was pressed during a news conference on who he plans to vote for in next month’s presidential election.
Baker dodged the question, saying that he “may take a pass on that one,” adding “we’ll see” when asked if that means he won’t vote at all.
I asked @MassGovernor how he was voting and “who are you supporting for President?” He responds “you know I think I may take a pass on that one as well.” Adds “We’ll see.” Also he did not vote in 2016. #wcvb pic.twitter.com/nM8IwiMtXG
— Sharman Sacchetti (@SharmanTV) October 14, 2020
This isn’t the first time that the Massachusetts governor has come out against Trump.
Last March, the Republican governor threw cold water on the President’s hopes of having Americans back at work by Easter (which was April 12) just weeks after COVID-19 restrictions were implemented.
A few months later, Baker got choked up over Trump’s call for governors to “dominate” protesters amid nationwide protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
“I heard what the President said today about dominating and fighting,” Baker said in June. “I know I should be surprised when I hear incendiary words like this from him, but I’m not.’”
The President eventually got around to attacking Baker last month after the Republican governor rebuked Trump’s refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the November presidential election.
RINO Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts is unsuccessfully trying to defend Mail In Ballots, when there is fraud being found all over the place. Just look at some of the recent races, or the Trump Ballots in Pennsylvania that were thrown into the garbage. Wrong Charlie!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 25, 2020
…and so it begins.
A few thousand more elected Republicans like him and we’re getting somewhere. He’s been out front of this shit show for a while now. Maybe time to switch parties.
Baker can’t back Trump and hope to continue in politics in MA, he’d never win office again. Maybe he really means it, but it’s hard to trust any Republicans nowadays…so many of them have just gone along with whatever Trump did simply in the hope that they would get what they want out of the government, and in glee because of how he “triggered the libs”. White supremacy, Russian collusion, casting aspersions on soldiers…irrelevant as long as the wealthy get their tax cuts and they pack the courts with right wing ideologies.
Republicans who say the things Baker is saying have a long road to rescuing the reputation of their party.
Many sanctimonious Republicans have said that they supported Trump because of Judges… Well Trump has already delivered, do they feel they need to keep him around?