Trump demands ‘full-throated apology’ from Maine gov on trans sports flap

President Trump on Saturday demanded a “full-throated” apology from Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) before his administration can settle its dispute with the state for defying his executive order banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports.

The University of Maine System (UMS) backed down earlier this week and promised to follow the executive order on transgender competition, but Trump suggested the dispute over federal funding won’t be resolved until Mills’ mea culpa.

“While the State of Maine has apologized for their Governor’s strong, but totally incorrect, statement about men playing in women’s sports while at the White House House Governor’s Conference, we have not heard from the Governor herself, and she is the one that matters,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“We need a full throated apology from the Governor herself, and a statement that she will never make such an unlawful challenge to the Federal Government again, before this case can be settled.”

On Feb. 5, Trump signed an executive order that effectively banned transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports or else get cut off from federal funds. But top athletic associations in The Pine Tree State quickly resisted Trump’s order.

A few weeks later, news of a transgender competitor from Cumberland’s Greely High School — competing under the name “Katie” — won the Class B girls’ state championship in pole vaulting by a considerable margin, got the administration’s hackles up.

Trump then confronted Mills at a governor’s summit later that month, chastising her and warning that she “better comply.” Mills was defiant and shot back, “See you in court.”

Days later, the Trump administration launched an investigation into Maine, which The Post broke exclusively, to determine whether the state was flouting Title IX, a provision of the Civil Rights Act that restricts schools that engage in sex-based discrimination from getting federal funds.

That probe put at least $250 million in annual federal funding for the state in jeopardy.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration followed up and blocked the UMS, a network of eight public universities in the state, from receiving funds from the Department of Agriculture.

Then on Wednesday, the Department of Education, which Trump has since moved to dismantle, warned that the UMS had 10 days to comply with the administration’s policy restricting transgender competition in female sports or lose funding.

Shortly thereafter, the UMS agreed to comply with Trump’s executive order, something to which the NCAA and others had already agreed to follow.

“The University of Maine System has always maintained its compliance with state and federal laws and with NCAA rules, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture also affirmed in a press release today,” UMS Chancellor Dannel Malloy said in a statement.

The Post contacted a Mills spokesperson for comment.

“I’m sure she will be able to do that quite easily,” Trump added on Truth Social Saturday, referring to the possibility of Mills apologizing to him. “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

Trump’s demand of Mills comes a day after Columbia University caved to his pressure campaign on the institution to ramp up protections for Jewish students on campus.

The federal government had yanked some $400 million worth of federal funding over how the scandal-scarred Morningside Heights university handled antisemitism on campus.

Now about three dozen cops on campus will be able to arrest students when needed

The school said 36 campus cops will now be empowered to arrest students or boot them from campus when deemed appropriate. The Ivy League school also listed four pages worth of other steps it is taking to address antisemitism.