When Maine Governor Janet Mills stood up to President Donald Trump on Feb. 21 after he demanded Maine comply with his executive order banning transgender athletes from women’s sports, Democrats quickly took to social media to celebrate her defiance. People praised Mills for standing her ground as Trump threatened to withdraw Maine’s federal funding if she did not comply, with many calling on other officials to follow in her example. They are not wrong—Americans deserve government leaders with backbones. 

Under American democracy, where there are built-in checks and balances to hold each government branch accountable, citizens hold expectations for their elected officials. Just like the press is supposed to hold people and institutions in power accountable, people want their municipal leaders to do the same with the president. In this way, if the president oversteps, local officials should be among the first to condemn their behavior. However, during a time when our president refers to himself as a king and everyone around him seems to be bowing to his will, that expectation seems to be dwindling among American citizens. 

Nevertheless, when people who didn’t support Trump watched Mills stand up to him, they got excited. “Respect to Governor Janet Mills for standing up to the bully,” said one TikTok user. However, this praise is conflicting. Does someone simply doing their duty deserve praise? When the president signs executive orders limiting the rights of trans citizens, voters should want their local leaders to push back. And while Trump claims his order aligns with public opinion, it is backtracking on the rights of Americans. Who is to say he will stop there? 

In a statement after the interaction, Mills said, “Do not be misled: This is not just about who can compete on the athletic field, this is about whether a president can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law.” For too long, government leaders have been giving Trump the reins. Mills was just one of the few to jump off the carriage, refusing to ride along with his absurdities. 

It is important to note that Mills is not the only person who has defied Trump recently. New York Governor Kathy Hochul released a statement last week condemning Trump’s behavior in regards to his call to end congestion pricing. Additionally, judges, attorney generals, and nonprofits have opposed many of Trump’s executive orders, leading to dozens of lawsuits being filed against them—including one by Mass. Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell. But Mills is the first so far to confront him to his face—and on camera. What took so long? Somewhere along the way, municipal leaders became complacent with keeping silent rather than checking the self-proclaimed king. 

Our governors and representatives seem comfortable remaining silent because their rights aren’t at stake. But with the Trump administration’s constantly moving targets, there is no way of knowing whose rights will be lost next. In the words of Mills, “You must ask yourself: Who and what will he target next … Will it be you? Will it be because of your race or your religion? Will it be because you look different or think differently? Where does it end?”

Everyone is in the line of fire now. And if Friday’s disastrous meeting between Trump, JD Vance, and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky was any example, Trump is targeting other countries too. But as Zelensky pointed out, Trump tends to increase the volume of his words without increasing the logic of his argument—proving that it’s possible to argue back, to stand up for your constituents, and not take Trump’s threats lying down. Americans choose leaders to lead, not cower.  

Mills standing up to Trump is an important act of defiance, but these actions are long overdue. Enough of our leaders should be challenging Trump to the degree that these individual acts of resistance should be just drops in the ocean. It is a failure on the part of all elected officials that this is not the case. Let Mills lead by example, and let her not stand alone. 

If our president is the king, then Americans—who built a country that is the antithesis of monarchy—are his jesters.