Democratic governors criticized Trump

POLITICS

Now they’re hoping to work with him

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks, accompanied by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, left, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul at a campaign event for Vice President Kamala Harris in Grand Rapids, Mich., Oct. 18. PAUL SANCYA — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE

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By Anthony Izaguirre

The Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. >> They warned about him. Now they’ll have to work with him.

A handful of prominent Democratic governors are quickly adjusting their approach to President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office, hoping to avoid antagonizing him to ensure they’ll have a working relationship with his new administration.

They’re in a precarious position: adopting caution while also weighing their party’s desires to stake out early, and often combative, positions against Trump’s agenda.

“It’s a combination of fighting like hell if your values are attacked or if your innocent communities or innocent people are attacked. And then on the other hand, you’re trying like heck also to find common ground on things that we could agree on,” New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is walking a similar tightrope, vowing to push back against Trump on potential policies against reproductive rights, while also appearing hopeful that she and the Republican can work together.

Hochul, who slammed Trump during a speech at the Democratic National Convention and was a prominent campaign surrogate for Democrats this year, has said she and Trump spoke at length after his election victory and were able to find common ground.

“There are areas where we can work together, like infrastructure where we rely on federal money, and he seems to share my priorities, but also I’m going to stand up for protecting rights, reproductive rights and other rights,” she said at a news conference.

Asked this week whether as governor she would consider pardoning Trump in his New York hush money criminal conviction, Hochul notably didn’t shut down the question. “There is a pardoning process in the state of New York. It is lengthy. It requires a couple of elements. One is remorse,” she said, letting out a quick laugh.

A New York jury convicted Trump earlier this year on all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex.

Other Democrats have taken decidedly more combative stances.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a fierce Trump critic, summoned lawmakers back to work this month to allocate more money to the state attorney general’s office so it can launch anticipated legal battles against the Trump administration. Newsom’s goal, as he put it, is to “Trump-proof” California’s progressive state laws.

Shortly after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Colorado Gov. Jared Polisformed a group called Governors Safeguarding Democracy to “fortify democratic institutions in the states and ensure the rule of law serves all people,” according to the group’s website.