Press "Enter" to skip to content

This Week in the Governor’s Office: Aug. 28, 2017

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – This week in the Missouri Governor’s Office, Republican Governor Eric R. Greitens welcomed President Donald J. Trump to the Show-Me State. Greitens was on hand in Springfield as the Republican President began the first leg of his federal tax overhaul tour.

Trump outlines goals for major tax reform, Missouri Republicans approve

On Monday, Greitens visited La Grange and Canton to announce a jobs expansion at NEMO Manufacturing and presented the Flag of Freedom award to  two northeast Missouri companies for hiring veterans.

Greitens was also seen at Seyer Manufacturing in St. Peters on Thursday, visiting a plant which makes aerodynamic parts, including parts for Boeing, Lockheed, etc.

Both the Governor and Lt. Gov. Mike Parson had called on the Senate to expel Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal for her comments regarding the assassination of President Donald Trump, and when comments of yet another sensitive nature came out this week, this time from a member of the Missouri  House, Greitens issued a response on Twitter.

“First, Sen. Chappelle-Nadal called for POTUS to be assassinated. Now, Rep. Love has called for people in Missouri to be hanged from trees,” he tweeted. “Leaders in MO need to do better & I don’t think the Sen or Rep should be representing the people of MO; both should face same consequences.”

Democrats argued that the response wasn’t enough, with House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty, D-Kansas City, issuing the following statement in which she argued Greitens and Parson had both failed a test of “moral leadership.” 

“The timid reaction of Gov. Eric Greitens, Lt. Gov. Mike Parson and other top Republican leaders to state Rep. Warren Love’s call for a lynching has been an exercise in cowardice and hypocrisy for which they should be ashamed.

“When a black Democratic woman made a reprehensible social media post in support of political violence, condemnation and calls for her resignation was immediate and bipartisan. But when a white Republican man did the same, Greitens, Parson and other Republican leaders suddenly lost their voices. When they finally found them after more than a day of silence, their criticism was muted, with no mention of resignation.

“The endorsement of political violence is never acceptable, and any elected official who does so should step down. Two weeks ago, Eric Greitens and Mike Parson seemed to understand that. Now their former outrage appears feigned, and their future claim to moral leadership nonexistent.”

In other news, reports of how effective the Governor’s order on parental leave have been in the executive branch came out this week. According to St. Louis Public Radio, more than 500 state employees had applied for the benefit. Greitens’ order, issued in March, gives up to six weeks of paid leave to primary caregivers and three weeks to secondary caregivers who work in the governor’s office or agencies controlled by his appointees.

And finally, news broke on Friday that Greitens would be speaking at the Republican Leadership Conference in Michigan this September. That conference has a history of being a prime spot for Republicans eyeing potential presidential bids.