Two governors spoke during President Biden’s virtual global Summit for Democracy on Thursday. Both were from New England.
Vermont Republican Governor Phil Scott and Maine Democrat Janet Mills spoke on the first day of the summit, which is bringing together global leaders to discuss threats to and preservation of democracies around the world.
Scott said both major parties in the U.S. have seen an erosion of the basic civility essential to a strong democracy.
“Some of this is by accident and unfortunately some of it is by design. We can’t lose site of the fact that one person’s ego led us to a very low moment in American history. This is a powerful reminder of why we must always guard against authoritarianism and the manipulation of would-be dictators from both the right and the left.”
Governor Mills said national headlines ignore lawmakers who work on a bipartisan basis.