Gov. Paul LePage is endorsing Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination.

LePage’s announcement, revealed in a Friday interview with Boston radio host Howie Carr, came on the same day that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie also endorsed the New York businessman for the presidency. LePage had previously backed Christie, who dropped out of the race on Feb. 10 after a poor showing in the New Hampshire primary.

LePage’s endorsement came eight days before Maine’s Republican caucuses. The governor told Carr that he hopes Trump will visit the state before the caucuses, but said the Trump campaign hasn’t told him if a rally was planned.

The governor said he and Trump have a lot in common because they’re both businessmen, while Christie said the Republican front-runner is “the person who will go to Washington, D.C., and be able to absolutely turn the place around.”

In February, LePage had said he favored one of the governors running for the presidency, but “unfortunately, the American people are not going for a governor this time.”

The Republican presidential field at one time included eight current or former governors, but only Gov. John Kasich of Ohio remains in the field vying for the Republican nomination.

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“The numbers just aren’t there” for Kasich, LePage told Carr.

Christie and LePage have had ties for several years. As head of the Republican Governor’s Association, Christie came to Maine frequently to campaign for LePage in the governor’s successful 2014 re-election effort, and then made Maine his first stop after announcing he was running for president in June.

Trump, Christie and LePage are all known for their blunt and controversial speaking styles.

“Donald Trump and Chris Christie are both a little shy, but I’ll work on them as we move forward,” LePage joked on Carr’s show. He later said. “Now I get to defend all the stuff (Trump) says.”

LePage hasn’t always viewed Trump favorably.

On Feb. 9, LePage told a Maine radio show that the next president should have experience in elective office, which Trump lacks.

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“I do believe that the next president of the United States should be someone who has been tried and tested. And I think that any of the governors would do well for me,” LePage said on the George Hale-Ric Tyler Show on WVOM. “I’m not a big fan of Donald Trump, although he should give me a stipend or he should give me a bonus about starting this whole thing about being outspoken.”

The New Jersey governor also previously criticized Trump, having said that Trump didn’t have the temperament or experience to be president.

LePage told Carr that he and Christie have talked “off and on” since the New Jersey governor dropped his presidential bid. LePage said he talked to Christie on Thursday and “we planned it out” – apparently referring to Friday’s endorsements – but then said he was joking.

LePage also said that he had been scheduled to talk to Florida Gov. Jeb Bush last week, but Bush dropped out of the race after finishing a distant fourth in the South Carolina primary. LePage didn’t say if he was considering endorsing Bush, but Carr repeatedly pointed out that the Bush family had supported him, with Barbara Bush filming an ad for LePage late in the 2014 election.

CNN said Trump later called Carr’s show and said he was “really happy” to have the endorsements of LePage and Christie.

At the end of his interview with Carr, LePage said the presidential election could have an impact on his political future. Carr challenged LePage to say that he would run for the Senate seat currently held by Angus King, who will be up for re-election in 2018. LePage previously has hinted that he may run for the Senate, but he said Friday he would watch to see who wins the presidency before deciding.

“If it’s Hillary Clinton, forget it, I’m going to retire,” he said. “If it’s Donald Trump, you bet, I’m going to go help.”

Trump’s campaign didn’t respond to an email seeking comment on LePage’s endorsement Friday night.

Also on Friday, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s campaign released a list of his endorsements from Maine Republicans, including former state party chairman Charlie Webster, former state Senate President Kevin Raye and former House Speaker Robert Nutting.


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