Gov. Baker Called President-Elect Donald Trump, Offered Congratulations

BOSTON, MA — Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday said he has spoken with President-elect Donald Trump since an election in which Baker opted not to vote for his party's candidate.

Baker said in an interview with Boston Public Radio Monday, that before Thanksgiving he had called the President-elect to offer "good wishes" to Trump and his family over the holiday.

"I congratulated him on his victory and we talked for about four or five minutes," the governor said.

The traditional post-election outreach is significant because Baker was among the first Republicans to break ranks with his party and refuse to support its nominee, citing then-candidate Trump's statements about women and Muslims, among other critiques.

Baker told WGBH it was important to cooperate with the elected president's administration.

“It was a social call,” he told the radio station. “I did think it was important for me to reach out and to say congratulations and to offer our assistance, if appropriate.”

Writes WGBH in its interview recap:

... Baker said he's confident in Trump's wishes to unify the country post-election. "He basically said, 'campaigns are contests, now we need to start thinking about governing.'" Baker said the call was “polite and cordial” and didn’t touch on controversies within the state. “He did not cast any aspersions on Massachusetts,” he said, “nor on me.”

Trump also said he's met with Vice President-elect Mike Pence at a Republican Governor’s Association meeting in Orlando earlier this month, speaking mostly about infrastructure, and the Trump administration's hopes for progress there.

Read the full story and listen to WGBH's interview here.

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Image via Mass.gov