My first reaction to the “hit piece” on me, a baseless column by Maine Trust papers writer Steve Collins, was to laugh. The guy has no idea who I am, just the GOP’s best chance to be Maine’s next Governor, so he wants to “take me out early.” My second was outrage, how every day Mainers suffer this kind of thing.
Let us start at the beginning, with facts. After all, that is how voters are educated, people learn, “hit pieces” are unpacked, and legal rights are defended. As a former U.S. Court of Appeals clerk, litigator, investigator, and Maine attorney, facts matter.
Fact One: After years of watching my state – where I grew up splitting wood, yes – become a leaderless, chaotic, mismanaged, drug-ridden, unaffordable, Democrat-led mess, I stepped up to run for governor in April. Goal: Fix it.
Fact Two: The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Mainers want change. We raised more money in 75 days than any GOP candidate for Governor in history at this point in the cycle. Beyond conservatives, many unaffiliated and traditional Democrats are fed up.
Fact Three: Having communicated with every member of the Maine legislature – both sides – and given many my book “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness,” doors are swinging open.
Fact Four: My whole life has been about Maine values, taught by the World War II Generation, featured in my other book, “Eagles and Evergreens.” Non-negotiable.
Fact Five: One of those timeless values is truth. Another is love of America. A third is courage, including the courage to speak, not to be shut down by lies.
Fact Six: In 2024, a US Rep. of Somali-origin, Ilhan Omar (D-MN), openly expressed loyalty to Somalia, now mostly warlords and al Shabab terrorists – shocking even her own party. In October 1993, America lost 18 soldiers in Somalia under the UN flag. One was heroic Mainer, Gary Gordon. Think “Blackhawk Down.”
Omar was condemned for her split loyalty, violating her naturalization and office oaths. She backpedaled, said “misinterpreted,” and faced censure for her antisemitism.
Fact Seven: In March 2025, Maine Rep. Deqa Dhalac (South Portland), like Omar, asserted – check the record – that “our nation is Somalia.” No small deal, but unlike Omar, no backpedaling. In July, Homeland Security expressed concern over Dhalac’s remarks, her split loyalty, and what it could mean. It is individual to her.
As a former Naval Intelligence officer who lost seven friends on 9-11, someone entrusted with the Nation’s top secrets, who has served loyally all my life, I believe loyalty to America, like truth, is non-negotiable. Split loyalty is intolerable.
Why? Because split loyalties undermine order, security, the rule of law, and public trust. We are either grateful to be Americans with unrivaled rights, or we are not.
Compounding the insult, Dhalac sponsored the bill on Governor Mills’ desk that punishes Maine troopers for cooperating with federal law enforcement to enforce laws against criminal aliens. So, while Mainers worry about how they will pay bills, avoid traffickers, and educate their kids, she is pushing Somalia aid and illegals.
Fact Eight: For reporting this and delivering a petition to Dhalac requesting an apology – signed by thousands of Mainers – The Maine Trust published a column calling me a violent racist: He is “using the playbook that the Ku Klux Klan employed” and “stopped short of burning a cross on Lewiston’s highest hill.” Frankly, this characterization is over-the-top, hateful “yellow journalism.”
The reality is sobering. Mainers – many just common-sense conservatives – are being targeted. Odds are, The Maine Trust knew these statements were false, in my view, published with reckless disregard for the truth. They never called or reached out.
Fact Nine: If they had read my book, which they claimed, they would know my whole life – from young Maine Eagle Scout to protector of our Nation, Lieutenant Commander in the Navy, centered on principle, integrity, and defending those in need.
They would know I led Boy Scouts in black Harlem, two reaching Eagle; that I worked tirelessly with Untouchables in India; that the civil rights pioneer Jack Greenberg, co-counsel in Brown v. Bd. of Education, was my law professor and is celebrated in “Cherish America.”
They would know my values are as far from the “KKK” as east is from west. They would know I have written extensively and taught on defamation law at Harvard.
For now, conversation beats litigation. But next time: Talk to me, do not sully me. President Trump is right: Cancellation by defamation is not journalism. It will not stop me speaking. I believe too much in a better Maine, and ask you to be part of it.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, Maine attorney, ten-year naval intelligence officer (USNR), and 25-year businessman. He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (North Country Press, 2018), and “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024). He is the National Spokesman for AMAC. Today, he is running to be Maine’s next Governor (please visit BobbyforMaine.com to learn more)!
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