“I want you to record this and make it public,” Maine Gov. Paul LePage told Rep. Drew Gattine. | AP Photo Maine Gov. LePage accuses lawmaker of calling him racist, wishes they could duel

Maine Gov. Paul LePage left an explicit message on a Democratic lawmaker’s phone voicemail on Thursday morning, accusing the legislator of calling him a racist and subsequently expressing a desire to challenge him to an armed duel.

“I want you to record this and make it public,” LePage told Rep. Drew Gattine in the message, according to audio posted by the Portland Press-Herald.


LePage left the message after Gattine made comments on Thursday, slamming the governor for his racially-charged comments about the racial profile of suspects arrested for drug trafficking in Maine.

“Mr. Gattine, this is Gov. Paul Richard LePage. I would like to talk to you about your comments about my being a racist, you -----,” the Maine governor said in the voicemail.

LePage dared Gattine to “prove that I’m a racist” and insisted that he had spent his life supporting African-Americans.

“I’ve spent my life helping black people and you little son-of-a-bitch, socialist -----,” he added. “I am after you. Thank you.”

The governor then, according to the report, invited a Press-Herald reporter and two people from a local ABC affiliate for an interview in which he lamented the fact that he was not in the 19th century, calling Gattine "a snot-nosed little guy," adding "now I’d like him to come up here because, tell you right now, I wish it were 1825."

"And we would have a duel, that’s how angry I am, and I would not put my gun in the air, I guarantee you, I would not be (Alexander) Hamilton," LePage continued. "I would point it right between his eyes, because he is a snot-nosed little runt and he has not done a damn thing since he’s been in this Legislature to help move the state forward.”

Gattine clarified on Thursday that he never called LePage a racist, contrary to what a television reporter previously told the governor.

“What I said to the television reporter today is that the kind of racially charged comments the governor made are not at all helpful in solving what the real problem is,” Gattine said, according to the Portland Press Herald.

This is not the first time LePage has been caught using inflammatory language. Earlier this year, the governor said tackling the heroin epidemic was made more difficult by drug dealers who, “half the time, they impregnate a young white girl before they leave, which is a real sad thing because that’s another issue that we have to deal with down the road.”

Former Rep. Gabby Giffords, who survived being shot in the head in 2011, released a statement with husband Mark Kelly calling for a public apology from LePage for hurling violent threats at Gattine.

"It’s not news that Governor LePage is a bully. But Governor LePage has crossed the line from intimidation and middle school name calling to threats of violence," the statement read.

Giffords and Kelly warned LePage's threats could lead to violent actions from "the most dangerous and unstable among us."

"Governor LePage must apologize to Representative Gattine and make it clear to the people of Maine and for all Americans that he disavows these disgusting threats," they added.

In an editorial on Friday, the Portland Press-Herald apologized to the country for reelecting a governor “who is unfit for high office," comparing LePage to Trump as a "repeat offender" of what Republican Sen. Susan Collins previously called "showing complete disregard for common decency."

"On the bright side, America, LePage isn’t going to be governor forever, and when his successor takes office in 2019, Mainers of all political parties will have to work together to fix the damage he has done to our reputation. We hope that this person will be a leader who will welcome people of all races to live in Maine, and invest in our wonderful state," the newspaper concluded. "Until then, please accept our apology. We’ll try not to do it again."

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