PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage says one of his harshest critics needs to be put on a “suicide watch” because he’s going to win his re-election bid.
LePage made the remark Monday evening about Bill Nemitz, columnist for The Portland Press Herald. LePage appeared at an event with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in Portland and told supporters: “We’ve got to make sure that he doesn’t go anywhere near the Bucksport bridge.”
LePage’s joke came moments after Christie described him as a governor who speaks his mind and “who wears his heart on his sleeve” but wants only the best for Maine.
Maine Democratic Party Chairman Ben Grant condemned LePage’s remark on suicide as “distasteful and inappropriate.”
Nemitz tweeted a reply afterward, writing, “Suicide watch? As if! Don’t flatter yourself.”