Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) is considering resigning from his post after coming under fire for a string of racially tinged comments and confrontational actions.
LePage told a local talk radio station that it’s possible he may not finish his second term, the Portland Press Herald reported Tuesday.
{mosads}“I’m looking at all options,” LePage said. “I think some things I’ve been asked to do are beyond my ability. I’m not going to say that I’m not going to finish it. I’m not saying that I am going to finish it.”
“If I’ve lost my ability to help Maine people, maybe it’s time to move on,” he later added.
LePage, an avid supporter of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, has been heavily criticized for saying “the enemy” in his home state is overwhelmingly made up of people of color, as well as for calling Khizr Khan, the father of a slain Army soldier, a “con artist.”
The governor left a profanity-laced voicemail for state Rep. Drew Gattine last week, accusing the Democrat of calling him a racist.
He also said he’s been keeping a three-ring binder of arrested drug dealers in Maine and claimed 90 percent of them are black or Hispanic, according to the Press Herald.
LePage’s controversial comments and feuds have outraged his political opponents, and he is facing mounting pressure from within his own party to soften some of his positions.
LePage apologized for leaving the angry voicemail Tuesday and told the radio station he plans to have a face-to-face meeting with Gattine.
“When I was called a racist I just lost it, and there’s no excuse,” LePage said. “It’s unacceptable. It’s totally my fault.”
LePage said that being called a racist for him was “like calling a black man the ‘N’ word or a woman the ‘C’ word. It just absolutely knocked me off my feet.”
LePage met with Maine’s GOP leadership Monday to discuss his next steps. He said state House Republicans indicated they would like to “salvage what we can and move forward,” whereas state Senate Republicans are “making demands.”
The governor said he plans to talk with his staff before making any decisions about his political career.
“It’s not about me. It’s about making sure that we can move the state forward,” he said. “It’s one thing to have one party behind [you], it’s another thing to not have any party behind you.”