It was a weird week in Massachusetts politics
If, as they say, the flap of a butterfly’s wings can cause a hurricane across the globe, then what happens when a sitting governor dumps a bucket of ice-cold water all over himself for a good cause?
Quite a bit, it turns out.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker kickstarted a series of events that touched several corners of the usually slow August news cycle, from Deflategate to Donald Trump, when he took the Ice Bucket Challenge Monday afternoon to raise awareness and money for ALS research.
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See that T-shirt? Baker took the challenge just two days shy of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s highly anticipated day in federal court to challenge a quarter-season suspension levied by the NFL.
For his drenching, the governor donned a “Free Brady’’ shirt—a mantra that practically every T-shirt maker in the region has adopted and profited off for months.
David Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports who has sold somewhere around 10,000 “Free Brady’’ T-shirts, took issue with the model chosen by Baker on Twitter. He demanded an apology … and even got one.
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Portnoy’s criticism prompted a war of words in a Boston Globe article between the maker of the T-shirt Baker chose and Portnoy, with each side accusing the other of stealing ideas.
Baker, meanwhile, challenged Boston Mayor Marty Walsh—a Patriots season ticket holder who has previously offered unbridled support for Brady—to take the Ice Bucket Challenge next. Baker, a Republican, and Walsh, a Democrat, have grown buddy-buddy since before Baker’s January inauguration.
Walsh took the challenge, going under ice water Friday. (That was two days after Brady and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell appeared before a judge Wednesday and a bizarre courtroom sketch of Brady went viral.)
Walsh mimicked Baker during the challenge with a shirt of his own. “Free Baker,’’ it read, complete with a portrait of the governor. Free him from what? It’s anybody’s guess. “I’m not sure what we’re freeing him from yet, but we’re going to figure that out later,’’ Walsh said, according to Boston magazine.
As is seemingly the case with all roads this summer, this one led to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Walsh challenged Trump to line up next to take the challenge. Trump and Walsh had sparred just weeks before, after the mayor said controversial comments regarding immigration from Trump could keep him from doing business in the city of Boston. Trump also slammed the mayor when Boston’s Olympic bid was dropped in late July.
Earlier in the week, casino powerhouse Steve Wynn called Walsh “obviously irresponsible,’’ referring to the mayor’s stance as he continues to challenge Wynn’s efforts to build a $1.7 billion resort casino in the adjacent city of Everett.
Trump and Wynn have shared a rivalry in the past. But when Trump arrived in the region Friday evening for a New Hampshire speech, he became the second world-famous mogul to offer a strongly anti-Walsh sound bite inside of a week, calling the mayor “a clown.’’
“I don’t even know who he is,’’ Trump added. “This guy Marty Walsh, he spends all this time and effort and money on an Olympic bid and then he goes out and he’s talking about ice bucket challenges. Get a real mayor.’’
Trump brought things full-circle, by turning his ire toward Baker. On Thursday, the governor had sharply criticized Trump for mean-spirited comments he has made about women. Trump pushed back, according to WBZ, saying: “Gov. Baker should only dream about doing for women what I’ve done and what I will do.’’
The frontrunner for the Republican nomination went on to say in his speech, “It’s the summer of Trump.’’ If the last week in Massachusetts politics is any indication, he’s got a point.
At least Trump can agree with Baker and Walsh on one thing.
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[fragment number=3]The 2016 presidential candidates
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