CHARLIE’S SKIPPING PENCE FUNDRAISER
Says his calendar ‘has other stuff on it’
Gov. Charlie Baker is snubbing Vice President Pence, skipping out on a GOP fundraiser in Boston headlined by Pence, a move that’s drawing outrage from some Republican conservatives and President Trump supporters.
“To me it’s just insulting,” said Mary Lou Daxland, president of the Massachusetts Republican Assembly. “I think that’s absolutely a disgrace that he’s snubbing the vice president.”
Baker will be in Boston at the State House early today and will be heading to a chamber of commerce dinner in Westport in the late afternoon, according to a spokesman. Pence is slated to arrive about 4 p.m. but neither Baker nor Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito will be greeting him on the Logan airport tarmac or attending the fundraiser.
Baker told reporters that he’s missing the Pence event “because my calendar has other stuff on it” and insisted he wasn’t trying to send a message to the Trump administration.
“Show some respect,” said former U.S. Sen. Robert Smith, a New Hampshire conservative Republican. “If you’re afraid to be seen with your vice president then join the other party.”
The fundraiser at the Langham Hotel is expected to raise about $500,000 for Trump Victory, a joint venture between the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign. Besides Pence, RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel will be attending the event.
The fundraiser has a minimum donation of $15,000 per couple, which will earn donors a “photo opportunity” with Pence, according to the invitation.
Those who donate $35,000 will get a photo op plus a roundtable discussion with Pence, the invitation says.
The Pence visit comes at an inopportune time for Baker, who is just launching his campaign for re-election. The GOP governor has been a frequent critic of the Trump administration and has sought to distance himself from the president and White House.
But Baker’s moves away from the Trump administration have also brought him some criticism from conservatives in his own party.
“I think it’s horrible,” GOP state committee member Steve Aylward said of the Pence snub. “Pence is a good man, a good Republican.”
Daxland, a frequent Baker critic, said she’s “not surprised” that Baker is staying far away from Pence, considering the governor has said he didn’t vote for the Trump-Pence ticket.
“That is absolutely something I would expect him not to do,” Daxland said.
A spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee declined to comment on Baker’s absence. State Rep. Geoff Diehl, who was co-chair of the Trump campaign in Massachusetts and is now running for U.S. Senate, also declined comment.
It’s also not clear if the state party chairwoman, Kirsten Hughes, is planning to attend the Pence fundraiser. A Massachusetts Republican Party spokesman did not respond to questions from the Herald.
Despite Baker’s snub, the fundraiser could be a boon to his three Democratic opponents, who are struggling to get attention and trying hard to link the Republican governor to Trump.
Baker has also been criticized by Democrats for a joint fundraising agreement with the Republican National Committee that funnels money from big donors back to the state party.