Janet Mills has had a public dispute with President Donald Trump, but a viral image makes false claims.
By Alex Demas
Published February 27, 2025
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A viral image claims that Maine Gov. Janet Mills told Donald Trump that she would refuse to collect federal taxes if the White House cut funding to the state. “If Donald Trump stops federal funding to Maine, we the people of Maine will take out federal taxes from all paychecks and no taxes will be paid to the federal government,” Mills supposedly said. The quote has been shared widely online, including by prominent political scientist Allan Lichtman.
The quote is fabricated: Mills made no such statement.
No evidence exists for the statement on Mills’ social media, in online searches, or in the Maine government’s official press statements, and Mills’ office denies the quote’s legitimacy. “The statement is entirely false,” Ben Goodman, press secretary for Mills, told The Dispatch Fact Check. “Further, the action described in the false statement is illegal, per the Internal Revenue Code. The governor respects the rule of law.”
While Mills, a Democrat serving her second term as governor, has not threatened to withhold taxes from the federal government, she has been highly critical of the Trump administration. Last week, Trump and Mills clashed during a meeting of governors over the White House’s push to restrict transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports. Trump, who signed an executive...
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