Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker came under fire Tuesday after announcing that he did not cast a vote for president, a decision he said “disappointed” him.
“It’s the first time I haven’t voted for president and I’m obviously disappointed by that,” he told reporters after exiting a polling station, WCBV reported.
The Republican governor had previously said that he would not vote for Donald Trump and that he thought Hillary Clinton has “believability problems.”
He said he left the space on his ballot blank and didn’t offer a write-in candidate either.
“I have lots of friends who are voting for Hillary Clinton, I have lots of friends who are voting for Donald Trump and I respect their decision and I respect their opinion,” he told reporters before urging the public to make sure they vote — apparently not by his example.
“The most important thing is the people need to come out and exercise their right and make sure they vote all the way up and down the ballot because those state rep and those state senate races matter a lot here in the commonwealth,” he said.
Hundreds of Facebook users reacted with both anger and surprise to his news shortly after. Many of them, who commented on a post of his that urged the public to vote, slammed him as a “hypocrite.”
When a reporter asked Baker how he thought the public may view his example, he said everyone is free to do as they wish.
“Look, everybody gets to make up their mind on how they want to respond on Election Day,” he said, according to the Boston Herald. “The good news here is we had a million people who turned out before Election Day and based on the lines ... it’s going to be a big turnout day here in Massachusetts.”
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