Flatter or fight? Governors seeking help must navigate Donald Trump

Why are politicians a-holes? Finally, an answer. Image via AP.

Newsom complimented Trump for “his focus on treatments” for the virus and thanked him for sending masks and gloves to California. He said the president was “on top of it” when it came to improving testing and said Trump was aware “even before I offered my own insight” of the state’s need for more testing swabs.

It’s an approach informed by Newsom’s past dealing with Trump during devastating wildfires. While Trump always has approved California’s requests for disaster declaration following fires, just days into Newsom’s tenure last year Trump threatened the state’s access to disaster relief money. Newsom also knows Trump is a careful watcher of his words and actions.

Trump has kept a close eye on the coronavirus media coverage and noted which local officials were praising or criticizing him, according to three aides who spoke on condition on anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the president’s private deliberations. In conversations, Trump has blasted Whitmer and praised Newsom, they said.

There’s no evidence that Trump has held up a governor’s request for assistance for personal or political reasons. Still aides say it’s understood that governors who say nice things about the federal response are more likely to be spared public criticism from the White House or threats of withheld assistance.

Trump approved California’s request for a statewide disaster declaration within hours of Newsom asking on Sunday. Trump also has sent a Naval medical ship as well as eight field hospitals. New Jersey will be getting four field hospitals after a phone call between the president and Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who has not criticized the president during the crisis.

Republican governors are navigating particularly difficult waters, knowing that any comments viewed as critical of the president could anger Trump’s loyal fans in their state. Some Republicans spoke out against Trump’s talk of reopening the U.S. economy by Easter in mid-April. Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, head of the nonpartisan National Governors Association, called the White House messaging “confusing.”

Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, executive of the country’s most-infected state without a statewide stay-at-home order, turned this week to echoing Trump’s concerns about lockdowns being possibly ineffective, and to arguing that they might be more harmful to the economy than they’re worth.

Others tried to avoid directly contradicting Trump, even as they contradicted Trump.

“The best thing we can do to get the economy going is to get COVID-19 behind us,” Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, said as he urged Texans to follow restrictions on travel, public life and commerce.

GOP Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio, who lead on the early action, described himself as “aligned” with Trump, but then also noted the state’s model did not show cases peaking until May 1. DeWine appealed to Ohioans to continue to stay home to limit the spread of the virus.

Those close to DeWine say he understands the importance of picking his battles.

“I think he recognizes this unprecedented once-in-a-century situation is bigger than politics,” said Ryan Stubenrauch, a former DeWine policy and campaign staffer.

It’s unusual to see a president and governors publicly feuding and name-calling while their country teeters on the brink of disaster. In past recent crises, presidents and state leaders have gone out of their way to show that politics plays no role in disaster response, and to project the appearance of cooperation. In 2005, as Republican President George W. Bush’s administration received criticism for its handling of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, there was never a sense he was withholding help for personal reasons, said former Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.

“I never had to worry that President Bush would be angry with me, personally, so he wouldn’t help the people of my state,” she said. “I knew he wasn’t a petty leader.”

In 2012, weeks before the general election, Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., and President Barack Obama, a Democrat, memorably made a show of their close personal relationship as they dealt with the devastation from Superstorm Sandy.

In this moment, some governors have tried both compliments and confrontation, knowing the president responds to both. When Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y., was frustrated last week that Trump had not stepped up the federal response to hard-hit regions, he tried a counterintuitive approach.

In a series of cable TV interviews, Cuomo praised Trump for changing his tone about the severity of the virus and starting for focus on resources. In a call to the White House, Cuomo delivered the same grateful message privately, according to two officials with knowledge of the conversation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly talk about the private discussions.

Trump later expressed happiness to aides and advisers that Cuomo had said such nice things about him, according to two White House officials and Republicans close to the West Wing.

A week later, when Cuomo delivered an urgent, frustrated plea for ventilators Tuesday, he notably didn’t mention Trump by name. Shortly after, a White House official said 4,000 more ventilators would be shipped to New York.

But later that day, Trump vented to aides about Cuomo’s cry for help, complaining that the governor made it seem like Washington had abandoned him, according to those White House officials and Republicans.

His anger broke through during the town hall. When Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator for the coronavirus response, was describing testing problems and mentioned New York’s high transmission rate, Trump interjected, trying to push Birx to criticize Cuomo: “Do you blame the governor for that?”

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Reprinted with permission from The Associated Press, with additional content from Florida Politics staff.