North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein delivers his first State of the State address to the General Assembly at the Legislative Building in Raleigh on March 12, 2025. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)

The hypocritical double standards at work on the modern political right these days are often enough to make your head spin. Just think what Fox News shouters would be saying right now if a Kamala Harris administration had committed an outrageous breach of national security like the one Trump’s defense team did recently by divulging details of planned military operation.

And the same hypocrisy would undoubtedly apply closer to home as well.

Just imagine if Gov. Josh Stein — who controls the state budget office — did what Trump is doing by issuing directives to budget officials to simply cancel government funded programs authorized in a duly enacted budget.

Funding for school vouchers and crisis pregnancy centers? Gone. New programs at council of state departments led by Republicans? Canceled.

Republican lawmakers loyal to Trump would be apoplectic.

The bottom line: Gov. Stein would never take such action because he’s an honest and responsible leader who believes in the rule of law. Would that Trump and the political puppets he controls were of the same character.

For NC Newsline I’m Rob Schofield.