EDITORIAL: Mr. Potato Head, My Little Pony, and GI Joe Pummel Dan McKee

EDITORIAL: Mr. Potato Head, My Little Pony, and GI Joe Pummel Dan McKee

In medicine, doctors swear by the Hippocratic Oath — the historic pledge outlining ethical standards, emphasizing patient well-being, confidentiality, and professional conduct. 

The promise is first to “do no harm.”

Maybe Rhode Island governors need to do the same. 

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The announcement of Hasbro's departure for Massachusetts is a blistering embarrassment for Rhode Island, and especially Governor Dan McKee, who has already been floundering.

Some polls have had McKee's approval ratings around 25%. In light of the mismanagement of the Washington Bridge failure, the hack of the data of about half of Rhode Islander’s personal data, and a failed economic strategy, McKee was already considered toast.

Now, he is burnt toast. 

McKee had no relationship with Hasbro’s CEO Chris Cocks. The word is that McKee had never met Cocks when, in September of 2024, it became public that the company was looking to move to Boston. It seems impossible that a governor of the state would have bigger priorities than meeting with the CEO of one of the few Fortune 500 companies located in the state, but McKee apparently did.

McKee’s office did not even have a phone number for the CEO of Hasbro.

Then, according to multiple sources, when Rhode Island officials were extended the opportunity to present a best offer to Hasbro to try and keep the company in the state, and were explicitly told Pawtucket was not an option, what did the McKee team do?

They had Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien, McKee's crony, make the first pitch. 

End of story. Game, set, match, over, for Rhode Island. Dead on arrival. 

What was remarkable was Hasbro's Rhode Island legacy.

The Hassenfelds — three Polish-Jewish brothers, Herman, Hillel, and Henry — started as ragmen in the early 1920s, making money at the bottom of capitalism’s food chain, and over generations, evolved the company not just into a toy company, but an international success story. 

Through the decades, Hasbro became one of the largest toy companies in the world and transformed into a gaming and entertainment company. 

The company hadn’t had significant manufacturing in Rhode Island in decades, but what it did have and needed more of were hundreds of smart people capable of design, creative, and technical skills, but if you meet McKee, you know he is not the messenger to convince anyone that Rhode Island can provide those critical skills and talents.

Mr. Potato Head, G.I. Joe, and My Little Pony are all headed to Boston.

McKee, Peter Alviti, and a broken bridge remain here. 

We need to do better.