Gov. Maura Healey delivered a low-key, reassuring message Wednesday in the wake of Donald Trump’s reelection as president, saying that both the priorities of her administration and the essential character of Massachusetts will remain unchanged when President Joe Biden leaves office and Trump is inaugurated for a second time.
“It is up to all of us to chart the path forward. … We’re going to do it by continuing to push forward on the things that make Massachusetts so great,” Healey said. “Driving down high housing costs by building more homes. Driving a strong, innovation-based economy that thrives, from life sciences to robotics to advanced manufacturing. Amplifying and taking care of things that we really value, like our public education. We’re going to continue to keep working to make sure that Massachusetts remains number one … from early ed to higher ed.
”We value access to healthcare, also tops in our country,“ Healey added. ”We’re going to continue to work to make sure that residents have access to the best care in the country and the highest rate of coverage. We care about the climate and our environment. We’re going to continue to lean on offshore wind energy, climate-tech innovation, and clean jobs.“
Healey’s subsequent references to what Democrats, liberals and progressives might regard as looming threats from an incoming Trump Administration were delivered in an understated, matter-of-fact manner.
”We’re also a place where we will always stand up for people’s rights and freedoms — where women will have control over their healthcare decisions, and where every person is respected, valued and heard, whoever you are, wherever you were born, whomever you love,“ Healey said. ”That was true yesterday, it’s true today, and it will be true tomorrow. That’s my promise to all of you.“
At the outset of her remarks, Healey seemed intent on dispelling any ill feeling between Massachusetts residents who voted for Trump and those who voted for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee. In Massachusetts, with 97 percent of votes counted, Harris leads Trump by 25 percentage points.
”In Massachusetts and across the country today, there are many people who are very happy,“ Healey said. ”There are also many people in Massachusetts and across the country who are very unhappy and are having a hard time.
“This is a time to come together,” she added. “We see so much anger and division across the country, but I know Massachusetts is a place and will be a place where we care about each other and we look after one another.”
The broad message Healey delivered differed in tone from that sent by Attorney General Andrea Campbell, whose office released an email detailing several different areas in which Campbell is preparing to push back against the incoming Trump Administration. Among other things, the email cited political violence, immigrants’ rights, reproductive rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, student loan programs, and racial justice as categories in which advocacy may be necessary.
During the Q-and-A portion of her press conference, Healey — who filed dozens of lawsuits against the first Trump Administration when she was Massachusetts’ attorney general — told a questioner: “I think I’ve spoken quite a bit about Donald Trump and my feelings about him. We have to see whether he makes good on what he promised and ran on.”
Also during the Q-and-A, however, Healey spoke forcefully about her commitment to protecting reproductive rights in Massachusetts once Trump is back in the White House. Trump, whose three Supreme Court nominations paved the way for the reversal of Roe v. Wade, has staked out numerous and occasionally contradictory positions on abortion.
“That’s something that we’re very committed to,” Healey said of abortion rights. “And we’ll make sure that women and those who need care are protected here in Massachusetts always. Always.”
Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
