The Daily Signal - Victor Davis Hanson: Maine Pulls a South Carolina

Episode Date: February 26, 2025

In this edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words,” Victor Davis Hanson discusses a recent heated exchange between President Donald Trump and Maine Gov. Janet T. Mills at a White House meeting of governors. The confrontation centered on Trump’s executive order banning males from participating in female sports, which Mills resisted.  Hanson argues that Mills’ stance is not only out of line with public opinion, but also basic constitutional principles: “[Gov. Janet T. Mills’] wrong on public opinion and she’s wrong on sporting authorization. She’s wrong in the idea that a state law can supersede a federal law. “Because, if she were right, she would destroy female sports as we know it. … “Under our Constitution, when a state and federal law are in conflict, the federal law predominates. The alternative is something that caused the Civil War. …  “I would remind her that there’s some things that she’s not thinking about. No. 1, that issue, according to liberal polls, is about 80-to-20 in favor of keeping female sports for biological females. The person, most recently, who won a pole vault contest in Maine was a biological male. And they usually have about a 20% higher rate of performance in pole vaulting because of their muscular skeletal frame. … “Remember, women who transition to men, that is biological women, do not win male sports. And that should tell you something. It’s that the idea of genderism, transgenderism, is not a third sex. It’s primarily predicated on whether you’re a biological male or a biological female. If you’re a biological female, you do not do well as a transgendered male.” For Victor’s latest thoughts, go to: https://victorhanson.com/ Don’t miss out on Victor’s latest videos by subscribing to The Daily Signal today. You’ll be notified every time a new piece of content drops: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHqkXbgqrDrDVInBMSoGQgQ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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We'd love to talk. Business. Donald Trump had a meeting of the governors in the White House recently this week, and he went through a list of initiatives and executive orders that he's issued. At one point, he brought up the fact that he'd heard that the governor of Maine had resisted his executive order banning biological males in female sports. They got into a tit-for-tat. She started arguing with the president, you're going to defy a federal order.

The executive order has the force of a federal law. Under our Constitution, when a state and federal law are in conflict, the federal law predominates. The alternative is something that caused a civil war. Hello, this is Victor Davis Hanson for the Daily Signal. Donald Trump had a meeting of the governors in the White House recently this week, and they were both Republican and Democrat, and he went through a list of initiatives and executive orders that he's issued in his first nearly 30 days in office and how they might apply to the particular states. At one point, he brought up the fact that he'd heard that the governor of Maine had resisted his executive order

banning the participation of biological males in female sports. And he asked if the Maine governor was there. And she said she was. And he said, are you, you're going to defy a federal order? And she says, we're going to coordinate state and federal law. He says, but the executive order has the force of a federal law. And under our Constitution, when a state and federal law are in conflict, the federal law predominates. The alternative governor Janet Mills of Maine is something that caused a civil war, nullification of a federal law like South Carolina did in 1832. And to be honest, what 600 jurisdictions are doing with their sanctuary city. county and state laws.

But here was what was so funny. They got into a tit for tat, and she started arguing with the president and said, see you in court. And he said, yes, we will. And you're not going to be a politician very long because people are going to vote you out. It was kind of a ruckus, and we don't really see that. But here's what was so strange about it.

There's two or three things that I know that she didn't consider. I know what she was saying. She was saying through the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, NPR, P. PBS, the network news, I'm going to be a rock star as is every left-wing person who opposes Donald Trump. Remember the bishop of the National Cathedral during the inauguration when she dressed Trump down? She was, what, a star for five minutes? That's what Governor Mills wants to be. But I would remind her that there's some things that she's not thinking about.

Number one, that issue, according to liberal polls, is about 80. to 20 in favor of keeping female sports for biological females. The person most recently who won a pole vault contest in Maine was a biological male, and they usually have about a 20% higher rate of performance in pole vaulting because of their muscular skeletal frame. Remember, women who transitioned to men, that is biological women, do not win male sports. And that should tell you something. It's that the idea of genderism, transgenderism, is not a third sex. It's primarily predicated on whether you're a biological male or a biological female. If you're a biological female, you do not do well as a transgendered male. If you're a biological male, you do very well as a transgendered female. So the

People know that, and they are opposed to you, General, excuse me, Governor Mills. The second thing is the National Collegiate Athletic Association and most national school, junior college, college level sports association have fallen in line with the president's executive order. So what you're basically saying is that you in Maine, and maybe in Maine alone, are going to say that males can compete in female sports, biological males, but yet they're not going to be recognized for national records or they're not going to be in NCAA-sanctioned events. So you're not just bucking public opinion. You're bucking college sports itself. It's official to them. Here's the most important thing is this is a neo-confederate position, the nullification of federal law.

As I said earlier, it almost caused Andrew Jackson to send troops into South Carolina who disobeyed federal tariff laws. It's caused the civil war in part because the Confederate state said that they could override legislation that pertain to slavery, and they were not subject to executive orders from Abraham Lincoln. And remember George Wallace in the doorstep of the University of Alabama when he said federal laws, federal civil rights statutes do not apply to us in Alabama. And John F. Kennedy nationalized the Alabama National Guard by an executive order. And that was that. So my point is this. She's wrong on public opinion.

She's wrong on sporting authorization. She's wrong in the idea that a state law can supersede a federal law. Because if she were right, if she were right, she would destroy female sports as we know it. And that's happening. If she were right, there would be no such thing as a United States sporting federations who makes rules and protocols for college and amateur sports. And we wouldn't have a United States. We would have 50 states each freelancing.

And final note, Donald Trump, as a representative of the federal government, has a lot of things that he can do to bring her into compliance, such as adjudicate whether she's going to get federal education funds or not. Maine is not known as one of the wealthiest states that's autonomous and independent economically of the rest of us. This was a publicity stunt, and she will regret it if she wants to adhere to it. She will regret it. This is Victor Davis Hansen for the Daily Signal.

Thank you for watching today's podcast. And for more news like that, subscribe to the Daily Signal. Maybe you can check out my own website at victorhansson.com for podcast, lectures, ultra-series behind a paywall, but more importantly, just daily columns that are accessible and free to everyone. Thank you very much.