Source: Politics<\/p>\n
BANGOR, Maine \u2014 Vice President JD Vance took his fraud-fighting tour to Maine on Thursday, attempting to cast President Donald Trump and Republicans as responsible stewards of Americans\u2019 hard-earned tax dollars in a pivotal purple state swing district.<\/p>\n
The speech provided an opportunity for Vance \u2014 one of the administration’s top communicators \u2014 to throw out red meat to the MAGA base. He blasted Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, blaming a rise in fraud in the state on her and former President Joe Biden. He claimed Maine was \u201cmaybe the bronze medalist\u201d for fraud in the U.S., trailing only Minnesota and California.<\/p>\n
\u201cThankfully, one of them has already been kicked to the curb and one is on her way out the door,\u201d Vance said, speaking in a hangar at the Bangor airport steps away from Air Force Two.<\/p>\n
But hanging heavy over Vance\u2019s remarks \u2014 and unsaid in them \u2014 was the growing discontent voters feel as Trump\u2019s war with Iran propels inflation to a three-year high, and the White House pushes for an unprecedented $1.5 trillion in Pentagon funding from taxpayers.<\/p>\n
Gontran Jean, who came to see Vance speak, told POLITICO he\u2019s \u201cnot happy about\u201d rising prices stemming from the war \u2014 but added, \u201cwe don\u2019t really have a choice.\u201d He said he would back Vance if he runs for president in 2028.<\/p>\n
Vance also used his visit to offer an olive branch to Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins \u2014 a frequent Trump critic who earlier this week voted with Democrats to try and rein in Trump\u2019s war powers. Back in January, Trump thrashed Collins and other Republican senators<\/a> who voted with Democrats to curtail his Venezuela incursion, saying they \u201cshould never be elected to office again.\u201d<\/p>\n Collins wasn\u2019t present for Vance\u2019s trip, with a spokesperson citing her perfect attendance for Senate votes. But Vance wasn\u2019t bothered \u2014 and even heaped praise on the moderate senator.<\/p>\n \u201cHere\u2019s the thing I\u2019ll say about Susan Collins, is sometimes I get frustrated with Susan Collins, I almost wish that she was more partisan,\u201d Vance said. \u201cBut the thing I love about Susan is she is independent, because Maine is an independent state. And frankly, if she was as partisan as I sometimes wish that she was, she would not be a good fit for the people of Maine.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s the latest example of a needle Vance attempts to thread between Trump\u2019s impulses and the political realities on the ground. Collins faces a tight-looking general election contest with populist Democratic candidate Graham Platner that could partly decide the balance of the Senate.<\/p>\n Vance’s speech was also the latest in a series of recent visits the presumed MAGA heir made to key states ahead of a potential 2028 presidential bid, including Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina and Arizona. Vance maintains he\u2019s thinking only about the present and not future political ambitions.<\/p>\n Bangor sits in Maine\u2019s 2nd Congressional District, which broke for Trump by more than 9 points in 2024 but has been held by Democratic Rep. Jared Golden since 2019. Last year, Golden announced he would not run for reelection, opening up a crowded primary for Democrats<\/a> and a seat Republicans tabbed as a high chance to flip despite mounting headwinds for the party.<\/p>\n Vance in his remarks shouted out Paul LePage, Maine\u2019s former Republican governor and the frontrunner in the district, and used the opportunity to hammer home his fraud-busting message. <\/p>\n The vice president called LePage \u201cthe biggest advocate for your tax dollars and the biggest threat to fraudsters that ever existed in the state of Maine.\u201d Vance said \u201cfraud has festered in Maine because this guy is no longer the governor.\u201d In his speech before Vance took the stage, LePage vowed a renewed push to end fraud, which received raving enthusiasm from the audience.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s kick Janet Mills to the curb, and let\u2019s send Paul LePage to Washington,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n