In the Oval Office this week, President Trump said, “In Maine, I opened it up. You know who’s fishing there? Canada. Canada. Japan, was fishing there. Maine lobster. You couldn’t get a Maine lobster, you had to go to Japan to get a Maine lobster.”
[NOTE: Trump signed a proclamation opening up certain protected waters in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans for commercial fishing interests.]
Trump added, “You had to go to Canada to get a Maine lobster. They were fishing there. Not only that, you had to go a day and a half in a boat and they had you at three knots. That means, like, essentially, a little bit different than three miles an hour but it means slow.”
U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME), who is also an organic farmer, responded to the President on social media: “Hi, Donald. Midcoast Mainer here. You did not, in fact, ‘have to go to Japan’ to get a Maine lobster before you. We sold millions. Our lobster fishery is one of the most valuable in the U.S. It’s a big reason why people come here, in case you didn’t know!”
Hi, Donald. Midcoast Mainer here.
You did not, in fact, “have to go to Japan” to get a Maine lobster before you. We sold millions. Our lobster fishery is one of the most valuable in the U.S.
It’s a big reason why people come here, in case you didn’t know!
If anything is… https://t.co/smjtud1H6n
— Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (@chelliepingree) June 11, 2026
Pingree added: “If anything is hurting our lobstermen, it’s inflation (which you apparently ‘love’). Also, exactly *zero* Maine fishermen run their boats at three knots. More like 30 knots—and some go even faster. You should check out a lobster boat race sometime! I think it might be time for one of your famous Oval Office naps, because you have ZERO idea what you’re talking about.”
[NOTE: According to The Maine Lobster Marketing Collaboration in Portland, ME: “The US lobster industry harvests between 87 to over 110 million pounds of Maine lobster annually, which accounts for roughly 70% to 90% of the entire American lobster supply.”]