California Gov. Gavin Newsom blasted President Donald Trump for his “relentless, unhinged California obsession” in a Sept. 9 State of the State address.
Illinois Gov. Jay Pritzker likened federal immigration enforcement practices to Nazi Germany.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey called Trump’s threats of immigration raids in Boston a “power grab” and “political theater.”
Here’s Gov. Dan McKee’s sharpest language toward the White House so far: “At a time when we should be moving forward with solutions for energy, jobs and affordability, the Trump administration is choosing delay and disruption.”
The governor’s statement came the day after the Trump administration sent shockwaves across Rhode Island by issuing a stop work order on the Revolution Wind project, already 80% complete and set to begin providing power to Rhode Island and Connecticut late next year.
It’s the same measured tone he’s used throughout his four and a half years as governor. A Cumberland mayor before he was elected lieutenant governor in 2014, ascending to the governor’s office in 2021, McKee, 74, has built his brand around “teamwork” — an homage to his time as a youth basketball coach — that features cooperation with municipal and business leaders, some of whom might not identify as Democrats.
Facing low polling numbers — he’s at the bottom of the heap among state governors — McKee is now being cast as too weak, too slow and too deferential to Trump by opinion writers, social media spectators and his potential rivals in the 2026 gubernatorial primary. Do their claims have merit?
Not necessarily, said Wendy Schiller, a political scientist and director of the Taubman Institute for American Politics and Policy at Brown University. While McKee’s critics see his lack of verbal attacks against the Trump administration as a sign of weakness, Schiller views it as a strategic move.
“We have a very big bridge to fix,” Schiller said, referring to the demolition and rebuild of the westbound Washington Bridge, which relies on millions of dollars in federal funding. “I think he was worried about putting that money at risk, and in some ways, rightly so, because Trump has shown he goes after people who criticize him.”
Avoiding bombastic language could help keep Rhode Island off Trump’s radar, in turn preserving the critical bridge funding along with other federal support, Schiller said.
“He took the cautious route,” Schiller said of McKee. “I am not sure that he should be criticized for that.”
McKee doesn’t see his approach as cautious at all, though.
“I speak out against Trump all the time,” the governor said in an interview. “My actions show that.”
Actions not words
McKee points to his comments about slashed federal education funding and the halt to the Revolution Wind project as examples of his verbal condemnation of Trump’s policies.
More important to McKee are his actions, like ensuring Rhode Island residents of all ages can receive COVID-19 boosters, with insurance coverage, despite more restrictive federal guidelines and educating Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on exactly how much progress Revolution Wind has already achieved. McKee pointed out that his office organized the Monday morning press conference at Quonset Point — less than 72 hours after the Revolution Wind project was put on hold — bringing together labor leaders, Rhode Island’s congressional delegation and local workers to put the spotlight on the economic consequences of Trump’s actions.
“I’ve made it very clear to everybody that wants to listen, this is a very direct hit on our economy, a direct hit on people’s pocketbooks,” McKee said. “I consider that strong language.”
McKee insisted he heard “no difference” between his responses to the federal administration and the words used by Newsom, Healey and Pritzker.
I speak out against Trump all the time. My actions show that.
But it’s not fair to compare McKee to more outspoken Democratic governors. Some states have more to lose under federal actions, and some leaders have more to gain by publicly bashing Trump, said Adam Myers, an associate professor at political science at Providence College.
“Rhode Island is a very small state,” Myers said. “McKee doesn’t have the same political platform that some of these other governors do. And my sense is that he doesn’t have national political aspirations.”
Myers observed McKee turning up the temperature “a little bit” after work on the Revolution Wind stopped, which makes sense given the stakes for state jobs, energy prices and environmental mandates.
“This is something that has major economic ramifications and energy ramifications for Rhode Island,” Myers said. “It’s not just a garden variety culture war.”
Versus, for example, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s written warning to McKee to reverse the state’s “sanctuary” immigration policies. McKee never responded to Bondi’s letter.
“It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to alienate the Trump administration at this point,” Myers said. “The ball is in the federal administration’s court. Exactly what leverage does Rhode Island have?”
Yet trying to keep a vindictive national leader happy might sour some Rhode Island voters on McKee in next year’s gubernatorial race, especially if they have the choice of a candidate with more vocal denouncement of Trump.
An eye on 2026
Public polling suggests six in 10 Rhode Island voters don’t approve of Trump or his administration’s actions; nearly two-thirds of 2024 voters think the country is facing a constitutional crisis, including 27% of Republicans, according to a June survey from the Pell Center at Salve Regina University.
“Democrats are hungry to make a statement to do something, because they’re so distressed about Trump,” Schiller said. “There’s no question, Trump will be the No. 1 issue in the 2026 elections, along with the economy.”
McKee’s known and potential election rivals are already trying to distinguish themselves as more ready and able to take on Trump.
Helena Buonnano Foulkes, 61, who became the second official candidate to declare her intent to run in the 2026 gubernatorial primary, took clear aim at Trump in her campaign kickoff speech.
“Here’s my message to Donald Trump: We will not tolerate your reckless agenda,” said Foulkes, eliciting the loudest, most raucous set of audience cheers of the Sept. 9 event.
In a one-on-one interview the same day, Foulkes criticized McKee’s public stance — or lack of — on federal actions.
“When I look at the Democratic governors, I don’t think Gov. Dan McKee has been at all on the front lines,” Foulkes said. “My biggest criticism is that he is not planning ahead for Rhode Islanders.”
It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to alienate the Trump administration at this point.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, who is term-limited, has not confirmed his intent to challenge McKee in the September gubernatorial primary. But he hasn’t ruled it out either.
Neronha, 61, used his platform as the state’s top prosecutor to go hard against Trump, in the courts — part of 34 multi-state lawsuits as of Sept. 4 — and in the public eye.
Despite Schiller’s suggestion that the president might punish those who attack him, Neronha said he has never hesitated or held back — in legal complaints, or verbal rebukes.
“I think you have to stand up to bullies,” Neronha said.
Already at odds with McKee for years for a series of perceived offenses by both sides, Neronha called McKee’s response to the Trump administration “a little anemic.”
“The governor may think, you don’t want to poke the bear, but the bear is coming for you,” Neronha said. “You can’t reason with a bear that’s as hungry as Donald Trump.”
McKee brushed off the criticisms by Foulkes and Neronha as “politics as usual.”
“You’ve got a candidate and a potential candidate for my job,” he said. “I am not surprised.”
That answer might not fly with voters as the campaign heats up.
“Someone like Foulkes who is not in office has the advantage of riding the wave,” Schiller said. “If McKee was smart, he’ll match her energy as much as he can.”
Labor love
And while McKee struggles to climb out from persistently low approval ratings — 25% to 29% of voters think he’s doing a good job, according to recent polls — he’s still got the backing of one of the most important influential groups in Rhode Island politics: labor. Union organizers, including Rhode Island AFL-CIO President Patrick Crowley, stood shoulder to shoulder with McKee during the Aug. 25 press conference at Quonset Point to address the labor impact of the Revolution Wind project.
“I think he came out pretty vociferously on the offshore wind stuff,” Crowley said of McKee. “I didn’t see any lack of vigor.”
The AFL-CIO endorsed McKee in the four-way 2022 Democratic gubernatorial primary, which also featured Foulkes. The organization has not decided who it will support in the 2026 gubernatorial race — it’s too early, Crowley said.
Labor organizers are looking closely at the fate of Rhode Island’s only major offshore wind project — and who leads the charge.
“Officials at nearly every level of government are saying the right things, but the real question is, ‘what do we do next?” Crowley said. “We just want the jobs back, and we want the project back up and running.”
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
