Part 2/9:
During a public exchange, Trump directly challenged Governor Mills regarding her compliance with federal laws pertaining to women's sports. He pressured her to enforce regulations against allowing transgender women to compete in female categories, threatening the withdrawal of federal funding if she did not comply. His rhetoric—"See you in court"—resonated with his base, who view the issue of men competing in women's sports as a direct assault on women's rights. The heated back-and-forth seemed to encapsulate the sentiment of many conservative voters in Maine and beyond, who support stricter adherence to traditional definitions of gender in sports.