TOPLINE
Governor Larry Hogan (Republican by Md.) Broke into President Trump and his administration’s response to the pandemic in an opinion piece published Thursday in the Washington Post, describing how “hopeless” he was waiting for an effective response from the White House and saying that the late response forced him and all the other governors to take matters into their own hands.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan speaks at a press conference on Wednesday July 15, 2020 in Annapolis, … [+]
KEY FACTS
Hogan, a Republican who leads a blue state, said he watched in horror at the start of the pandemic when Trump “downplayed” the severity of the pandemic and his administration “issued no public warnings, crafted a 50-state strategy, or sent a Report medical life-saving equipment or ventilators from national reserves to American hospitals. ”
“Eventually, it was clear that waiting for the president to direct the nation’s response was futile,” Hogan writes. “If we take longer, we would be condemning more of our citizens to suffering and death.”
The absence of White House leadership, writes Hogan, is to blame for the nation’s response to the pandemic: “Many actions at the national level could have been taken in those early days, but they were not.”
Hogan describes the painstaking effort to require materials for Covid-19 testing at the beginning of the pandemic, and how his wife, Yumi Hogan, originally from South Korea, helped the state obtain 500,000 tests for coronavirus from her home country.
The Maryland governor blamed Trump for the delay in launching Covid-19 tests in the United States: “While other countries rushed through well-coordinated test regimes, the Trump Administration disputed the effort.”
The White House did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment.
Crucial quote
“Rather than listen to his own public health experts, the president spoke and tweeted as a man more concerned with driving the stock market or his reelection plans,” writes Hogan.
Key background
Hogan, governor of a state that came to Hillary Clinton in 2016 for nearly 30 points, has criticized Trump in the past and has repeatedly directed his anger at the president during the pandemic. Earlier this month, Hogan turned to Trump for sending mixed messages about the pandemic. “His entire administration tells everyone to take it seriously while he tells everyone not to take it seriously,” Hogan said. New York Times. Meanwhile, the Maryland governor received bipartisan praise for his swift response to the outbreak in his state, including acquiring 500,000 tests from South Korea.
AMAZING FACT
Washington Post opinion writer Max Boot argues that Hogan, who has flirted with running for president, could become the new face of the Republican Party, but instead, the party is likely to choose Tucker Carlson, or someone with similar views, like the standard bearer.
Tangent
On Thursday, Hogan announced an investigation into a $ 501 million unemployment fraud scheme in his state.
Further reading
Fighting alone (Washington Post) (opinion)
Republican governor chronicles efforts to obtain test supplies while criticizing Trump’s ‘desperate’ Covid-19 (CNN) response
