Republican gubernatorial candidate Bobby Charles on Wednesday criticized President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada and sought to soften his hardline immigration rhetoric during a town hall event held in Lewiston.
Charles, who is trailing Democratic rival Hannah Pingree in the polls and fundraising, rose to the Republican nomination in June after a hard-right campaign that frequently embraced Trump’s policies. But the 66-year-old Leeds lawyer, who served in the administrations of former presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, is now trying to appeal to a broader swath of Maine voters.
On Wednesday, he sought to do so by campaigning with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Christie was an early Trump backer during the president’s first White House run in 2016, serving on his transition team. But Christie has since emerged as a Trump critic, part of a diminished and marginalized cohort that’s been largely purged from the GOP by the president’s loyalists.
When Charles announced that Christie would visit Maine, he was roundly criticized by Republicans on social media, although none of that animosity surfaced during the event attended by roughly 75 people.
Christie, who unsuccessfully challenged Trump during the Republican primary leading up the 2024 presidential election, did not spare the president of criticism during the town hall. While never mentioning Trump by name, Christie took aim at his mass deportation campaign and an administration that has repeatedly described immigrants as an invading force threatening American ideals.
“We cannot allow any leaders in this country to tell us that immigrants are the problem,” he said.
Charles has frequently targeted immigrants during the primary campaign and fueled fears that illegal immigrants are voting in Maine elections. In leaked audio from a Republican event, he told the audience that he would ask Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, t o send U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to patrol Maine polling locations.
On Wednesday, he sought to moderate his message.
At one point, a Bates College student told Charles that the immigration crackdown had rattled legal immigrants and people of color. The student also said that his mother had told him to always carry his passport in the event he was stopped by an ICE agent.
Charles told the student that he supported a compassionate approach and questioned ICE’s conduct when an agent shot and killed a Colombian immigrant in Biddeford.
“I am mystified, I will say, why in a recent set of events, we didn’t have body cameras. I am mystified by some of the operational details,” he said.
Charles’ response comes amid polls showing voters are increasingly worried about ICE’s conduct. A new poll commissioned by The New York Times and Portland Press Herald showed strong majorities of Mainers reject the president’s handling of immigration.
Still, Charles also tried to blame Gov. Janet Mills and a new law that limits cooperation between immigration enforcement and local police for contributing to ICE’s conduct.
Charles also took aim at Trump’s trade war with Canada, which is also deeply unpopular in Maine. He told the audience, and later reporters, that he had sent a message to Trump urging his administration to return to the negotiating table.
“I never had a conversation with him [Trump] about tariffs. I’ve made it crystal clear, as Sen. [Susan] Collins has, that I expect them to go back to the negotiating table,” he said. “I want them to go back to the negotiating table because other states may have different interests, but we have a critical interest.”
Canada is Maine’s leading trade partner and intertwined with the state’s heritage industries. The president’s trade war has also complicated Collins’ reelection bid, although she has repeatedly opposed his tariffs against Canada.
During the town hall, Charles and Christie repeatedly tried to frame Pingree as a status quo candidate responsible for Maine’s failure to affordability challenges, including high energy prices and soaring property taxes.
“Continuing to vote for Maine Democrats and think that they’re going to finally solve the problems is crazy,” Christie said. “And believe me, I’m from New Jersey, we know crazy.”
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.