Trump lashes out at Dem governors amid coronavirus coordination – POLITICO, Politico

President Donald Trump punched back on Tuesday against criticism from Democratic governors critical of his administration’s coronavirus response, wading into his familiar political spats as the White House looks to combat a pandemic.

Trump referred to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as the “failing Michigan governor” on Monday and lashed out at New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo after his calls for stepped up federal assistance. Minutes later, he heaped praise on his own administration for “working very well with the Governors and State officials.”

While Cuomo, Whitmer and other governors have been among the most vocal critics of the federal coronavirus response, they have been far from alone. The Trump administration has come under a steady drumbeat of scrutiny over its inability to quickly ramp up coronavirus testing capabilities as well as its weekslong rhetorical campaign to downplay the virus’ threat to Americans. Only recently has the president reversed course in his own public utterances to warn the public about the severity of the pandemic’s threat.

The president’s criticism of Whitmer on Tuesday appeared to be triggered by her appearance on MSNBC, where she said her state is working to flatten the curve by closing restaurants and bars after a federal government response that did not take the outbreak “seriously early enough.” She also outlined her plan to expand unemployment benefits as workers lose jobs and are forced to stay home amid the pandemic.

“The federal government did not take this seriously early enough, and now it is on us to make sure we’re doing everything we can based on the best facts and science available and that we are always putting the health of our people front and center, ”Whitmer said on MSNBC. Trump soon after tweeted that the Michigan governor “must work harder and be much more proactive. We are pushing her to get the job done. I stand with Michigan!”

During a White House news briefing on Monday, the president also stated that state leaders work to obtain medical equipment like respirators and ventilators on their own because of the slow federal process – a suggestion Whitmer called “mind- boggling. ”

“We need federal support. Like I said, we’re pulling out all the stops and reaching out to our partners in the private sector, ”Whitmer said. “We’re going to do everything we can to supplement. But it’s not to the exclusion of federal support. We need the federal government to ramp up and to get this done. ”

The president’s feud with Cuomo, which bubbled up again Tuesday, has simmered for days amid back-and-forth criticism between the two men over the Trump administration’s coronavirus response. The New York governor has repeatedly called for more federal help, to which Trump has replied that it is Cuomo who needs to do more.

On Tuesday, the president accused Cuomo of playing politics with his criticism of the administration and suggested that a blanket federal policy of the type that some have called for would not be appropriate.

“Cuomo wants ‘all states to be treated the same.’ But all states aren’t the same. Some are being hit hard by the Chinese Virus, some are being hit practically not at all,” Trump Tweet, referring to the novel coronavirus by a controversial name that some in his administration have adopted. “New York is a very big‘ hotspot ’, West Virginia has, thus far, zero cases. Andrew, keep politics out of it.”

Trump ended his tirade against the governors with the tweet praising the federal government’s work with state and local officials, promising that “Good things will happen! #KILLTHEVIRUS. ”