BANGOR, Maine (AP) — A day after Vice President JD Vance said the Trump administration’s endeavor to combat fraud in government programs would not be political or partisan, he touted the effort in a campaign-style stop in Maine while promoting a Republican candidate as a fraud fighter and portraying Democrats as enablers of scammers.Vance, dubbed the “fraud czar” by President Donald Trump, made an appearance in the state’s politically competitive 2nd Congressional District to stump for former Gov. Paul LePage, a Trump ally who is vying to flip the U.S. House seat being vacated by Democratic Rep. Jared Golden.He compared LePage to the current governor, Democrat Janet Mills, who has sparred with the Trump administration over the issue of transgender athletes in high school sports. Mills is prevented by term limit laws from running again and recently dropped out of a heated Democratic primary race for the Senate seat held by Republican Susan Collins, one of the most vulnerable candidates in the chamber.
“Let’s kick Janet Mills to the curb and let’s send Paul LePage to Washington to help us fight the fraudsters and protect all of you,” Vance told the crowd of a few hundred people at Bangor International Airport.
