Update: Governor 'Deeply Offended' Over Tantrum Accusations

UPDATE: Governor Mark Gordon has issued the following statement over allegations that he threw a ''profane temper tantrum in a Friday meeting with Cheyenne Mayor Marian Orr:

'I am deeply offended by the mischaracterization represented in the Mayor’s description of our meeting Friday. At no time during the conversation was I standing up or using intimidating body language. The notion that I have anything but the utmost respect for women is simply not true. I stand by my record on that point. I am not proud of my language and I apologize for the word I used. I have reached out to the Mayor to apologize for it.

The background for our meeting was to better coordinate the visit of a foreign head of state. If this were to happen it would be an historic moment, but I had been trying to emphasize the gravity of the situation. I was concerned that Wyoming not be used as a pawn between Taiwan, China and the United States.

Additionally, coordinating transportation through Colorado, providing adequate security during the delegation’s visit, and working together to facilitate the very best experience for an important world-trade partner were all issues we hoped to explore.

I hope to sit down with the Mayor soon and hear out her concerns so we can have a positive relationship going forward, to ensure the potential visit by the Taiwanese President is carried off with all proper protocol, that public safety needs are met, and taxpayer money is spent appropriately.''

Original Post: Cheyenne Mayor Marian Orr is condemning Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon for what she says was a profane temper tantrum in a meeting between the two officials on Friday.

According to a news release from the mayor's office:

"Gordon — in front of three of his own staff — stood up from the table where they were meeting, slammed his fists on the table, got into her face, and yelled "f*** you, Mayor” when he didn’t get his way.

“It’s one thing to have a disagreement on an issue,” Orr said. “But to lose your temper in front of your own staff, slam your fists on the table, get in someone’s face, and yell ‘f** you’ because you don’t like the way the discussion is going is abominable.”

“It was threatening and intimidating behavior,” she said. “He is much larger than I and used his physical presence in an aggressive and threatening manner.”

“I wouldn’t have endorsed him last fall had I known that he was capable of this. And to be comfortable enough to do this in front of three of your own staff is telling about one’s character.”

The exchange occurred during a discussion of a visit to Cheyenne by the President of Taiwan this Summer, according to the mayor.

She said officials from Taiwan ''expressed interest in attending the annual event mentioning to her that they liked the fact that the President of Taiwan was the first female elected head of state from the country and Orr was the first female elected mayor of Wyoming’s capital city.

Orr claims Gordon mocked her statement in Friday’s meeting.

“In a very condescending tone, he said, ‘Do you really think the President of Taiwan cares about Wyoming’s suffrage movement?'

A call to Governor Gordon's spokesman for comment on the meeting was not immediately returned.

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