Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) on Friday denied that his remarks this week about protecting “young white” girls from out-of-town drug dealers were racist.
During a news conference in Augusta, LePage told reporters he meant to say “Maine women,” according to The New York Times, noting that Maine is “97 percent white.”
{mosads}“You guys look for the sound bite,” LePage accused the media. “You’re not helping us with the drug deals. You’re not helping us to really make it a major issue. You’re more interested in reporting that the legislature and the governor disagree. Yeah, we disagree.”
“Am I perfect? No. If I were perfect I would be a reporter,” LePage added, according to the Times.
“Incidentally, half the time they impregnate a young white girl before they leave, which is a real sad thing because then we have another issue we have to deal with down the road,” he added Wednesday.
“I don’t know if they’re white, black, Asian. I don’t know,” LePage clarified Friday of the drug dealers.