By Jeff Tirrell
(BOSTON) — Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker on Monday took President Donald Trump to task for what many are calling the president’s incendiary comments regarding the violence that has erupted across the country after the death of George Floyd last week in Minneapolis, as well as the ongoing pandemic.
“At so many times during these last several weeks, when the country needed compassion and leadership the most, it was simply nowhere to be found”, said Baker.
“Instead, we got bitterness, combativeness, and self-interest. It’s not what we need in Boston, it’s not what we need right now in Massachusetts, and it’s definitely not what we need across our great nation of ours.”
Baker is notable among the nation’s Republican governors in that he has been critical of Trump on numerous occasions, and did not vote for Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Baker said he did not participate in a Monday call from the president to the governors during which Trump criticized many of them for being “weak” in their handling of the violent uprisings.