‘The Onion’ pokes at Trump administration’s attempts to prosecute Maine


The Onion satirizes the Trump administration's lawsuit against Maine over its policies on transgender student athletes, depicting the DOJ as planting false evidence.
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The satirical newspaper The Onion on Friday lampooned Trump administration’s attempts to prosecute the state of Maine for its policies on transgender student athletes, suggesting that it had resorted to falsifying evidence.

Under the headline “DOJ Plants Gun on Maine,” the story touts “a stunning discovery that linked all 1.4 million residents to a grisly unsolved cold case” and includes made-up quotes from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi sounding like a hard-nosed TV cop.

The satirical account comes after Bondi announced Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Justice is suing Maine over the inclusion of transgender athletes in girls’ sports.

It’s the latest move in the Trump administration’s pressure campaign to force Maine to change its policies toward transgender residents. The lawsuit could ultimately ask the conservative U.S. Supreme Court to define Title IX, the landmark 1972 law barring sex-based discrimination in schools, to outlaw athletic policies like the ones in Maine and more than 20 other states.

Gov. Janet Mills said in a Wednesday statement that she will defend Maine “vigorously” against this latest action from the Trump administration.

While the dispute will likely be settled in court, the Onion’s version ends at the police station with a nod to another fixation of the Trump administration, immigration:

“At press time,” The Onion writes, “Maine’s populace had been detained and taken in for questioning after attempting to flee across the Canadian border.”

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