Our anti-democratic Democratic Governor thinks no one should run against him, changes his name to Donald Trump-McKee
By Philip Eil, Rhode Island Current
Gov. Dan McKee said something stunning during a meeting with the North Kingstown Democratic Town Committee. While discussing his primary election challenge from former CVS executive Helena Buonanno Foulkes, he expressed disbelief and anger that Foulkes — or any of his fellow Democrats — would challenge him.
The poll mentioned above was taken before
Hasbro decided to move out of Rhode
Island and take Monopoly with them
“I’m a sitting Democratic governor elected and I am going to get primaried in my own party,” he said on Feb. 26, according to a recording released by talk radio station WPRO. “After doing all the work that we’ve done, that’s disgraceful. Period.”
The response from Foulkes’s camp was swift and fierce: “We expect this kind of king mentality from President Trump, not from a Democratic governor.”
But McKee’s remarks deserve more than that.
Because today, at a time when experts warn of the country’s democratic deterioration, the ways our officials talk about democracy are important. And it is noteworthy — and unsettling — that McKee would be so dismissive toward a foundational part of the democratic process that puts power in the hands of voters, not party leaders.
First, it’s important to note that these comments fit a pattern from the governor. This is the same guy who, after he won his last primary contest against Foulkes in 2022, publicly refused to take a concession phone call from Foulkes and told a staffer to “Hang up on them.” Afterward, he defended the decision, telling WJAR, “Anybody with a brain in their head would not be calling when they’re watching me on TV giving an acceptance speech.”
It is the same guy who, during his 2025 State of the State address, banned independent TV cameras from the chamber and booked the State House rotunda for the apparent purpose of keeping protestors out of earshot. Rotunda access was mostly restored for this year’s State of the State after a challenge by the ACLU of Rhode Island.
It is the same governor who, in the aftermath of the Washington Bridge shutdown, called reasonable questions about the job status of now retired DOT Director Peter Alviti “out of line” and “beyond the pale.”
McKee’s “disgraceful” comment is merely the latest indication that the governor takes umbrage at the norms and everyday pushback that come with elected office.
It would be understandable — though still unacceptable — for a popular elected official to bristle at the idea of a primary challenge. But McKee is not particularly popular.
His tenure as governor has been marked by high-profile stumbles including a data breach affecting hundreds of thousands of people, the departure of Hasbro for Massachusetts, the Washington Bridge mess, and a housing crisis that, in just the first few weeks of the year, has proven deadly. A poll conducted last year found McKee had the lowest approval rating of any governor in the country and his job approval rating remained under 20% as of mid-February.
For McKee to call a primary challenge “disgraceful” in this context doesn’t just reveal a disturbing sense of entitlement, it shows how out of touch he is. In a democracy, unpopular officials should expect challenges, both from within their party and without. That’s not “disgraceful.” It’s a marker of a free society.
Zoom out further and McKee’s comments look even worse. As we approach the 250th anniversary of the American experiment, our system of governance is in serious trouble. We have a president who denies election results, eagerly prosecutes political opponents, shares images of himself as a king, and frequently jokes about remaining in office for an unconstitutional third term.
Arrests of journalists are becoming more common. Masked federal agents are roving American cities and arresting — and sometimes killing — people. McKee’s comments came just days before the president started a war in the Middle East without congressional approval required by the Constitution.
McKee is aware of this environment. Before the 2024 election, he wrote an op-ed warning that a second Trump term would be “an authoritarian regime that legitimizes violence and division.” And since Trump’s election, he has seen the president’s tyrannical style up close. He was in the room at the White House, when Trump threatened Maine Gov. Janet Mills with the withholding of federal funds over her support of transgender athletes.
He saw Trump try to derail the Revolution Wind offshore wind project over questionable national security concerns. He has received a letter from Attorney General Pam Bondi threatening him and the state for its immigration policies. Given all of this, a more responsible leader would go out of his way to uphold norms and express his support for democratic processes.
In fact, the language McKee used to describe Foulkes’s primary challenge is more fiery than his response to Trump’s actions. When asked about witnessing Mills’ White House exchange, McKee called Trump’s actions “a little bit over the top,” but added that Mills “knows how to take care of herself.” His administration said Bondi’s letter “does not merit a response.”
By calling a primary from a fellow Democratic “disgraceful,” it appears our governor takes challenges to his career more seriously than attacks on Rhode Island’s sovereignty or the bullying of fellow governors.
Voters won’t head to the polls until later this year. But in his own unintended way, McKee is already helping them decide.
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