Peter Steele, the governor’s communication director, said in a written statement Thursday night that LePage’s remarks were not about race, but about the emotional toll drugs have on children.
“The governor is not making comments about race. Race is irrelevant,” Steele said. “What is relevant is the cost to state taxpayers for welfare and the emotional costs for these kids who are born as a result of involvement with drug traffickers. His heart goes out to these kids because he had a difficult childhood, too. We need to stop the drug traffickers from coming into our state.”