Donald Trump’s army of racists grew by (at least) one on Friday, when noted bigot and Governor of Maine Paul LePage endorsed the presidential candidate.

LePage announced his endorsement on, of all places, “The Howie Carr Show,” becoming the second Republican governor to do so. The first, as we all know, is a loud, desperate man from New Jersey. LePage said:

“Now I get to defend all the good stuff he says...I think he could be one of the greatest presidents ever if he sits down and puts together a good team.”

Just last week, according to The New York Times, LePage was urging Republicans to oppose Trump:

At a meeting of Republican governors the next morning, Paul R. LePage of Maine called for action. Seated at a long boardroom table at the Willard Hotel, he erupted in frustration over the state of the 2016 race, saying Mr. Trump’s nomination would deeply wound the Republican Party. Mr. LePage urged the governors to draft an open letter “to the people,” disavowing Mr. Trump and his divisive brand of politics.

LePage has a long and storied past, full of slip-ups that suggest he is an obstinate bigot. In 2013, he reportedly said the President Barack Obama “hates white people,” and that the that the NAACP can “kiss [his] butt.”

On another occasion, the governor blamed his state’s raging heroin problem not on poor drug policies, but on men with names like “D-Money, Smoothie, Shifty,” who sell heroin in the state and “impregnate a young white girl before they leave.”

[There was a video here]

Other noted racists who have expressed support for Trump include white supremacist and former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke, leader of the white nationalist American Freedom Party William Johnson, and others. With all these racists on his side, Making America White Again has never been easier.

[Image via AP]


Contact the author at melissa.cronin@gawker.com.