Donald Trump
GOVERNOR Arnold I. Palacios believes that the relationship between the CNMI under his administration and the White House under President Donald Trump “would be fine.”
In a press conference on Thursday, the governor expressed optimism that the president “would be very accommodating.”
“A lot of his appointees are governors, and I believe that they… would be supportive of the programs for insular areas and the territories,” said Palacios, who also shared with reporters some highlights of his visit to Washington, D.C. two weeks ago for Trump’s inauguration.
He said he met with some of his national counterparts at a gathering of the National Governors Association, where they discussed various topics for about an hour before heading to the inauguration site.
However, Palacios said he was unable to meet with the Republican National Committee chair, Mike Whatley.
He said he was asked if he wanted to join an RNC meeting, but “I chose not to because I was tired, and it was very cold outside [so] I was not able to meet him.”
Palacios added, “To me, whether you are a Democratic governor in the insular areas, or a Republican governor or an independent governor, the issues are still going to be the same and we need to continue to transcend the politics of it and learn how to talk to anybody who can help.”
In December, the RNC announced that Palacios, who was elected as an independent gubernatorial candidate in 2022, was returning to the Republican Party.
Palacios has expressed hope that CNMI Republicans “can get along and rebuild” the party, saying, “the fact of the matter is I am now a registered member of the Republican National Committee, and I am a Republican governor in the eyes of the RNC.”
