White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Thursday accused Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) of participating in a “revisionist story” for writing a scathing critique of President Trump’s coronavirus response.
When asked about Hogan’s Washington Post opinion piece, published Thursday, McEnany argued that his criticisms were out of step with some of his previous comments on the federal government’s response to the virus.
“His comments are really amazing, especially when you compare them to his previous comments,” McEnany told reporters. “This is Governor Hogan’s revisionist story.”
McEnany referred to Hogan’s comments in a video conference on March 19 with Trump and Vice President Pence during which he thanked them for their communication.
He also noted comments Hogan made during a press conference on April 17 when he said he had thanked Trump in a video conference for progress in federal and state coordination on ventilators, testing capabilities, and the availability of critical medical supplies.
Even before Hogan’s op-ed in the Post, he sometimes bluntly criticized Trump’s handling of the public health crisis.
Hogan wrote Thursday that the president left the states to fend for themselves in obtaining supplies and criticized Trump for minimizing the pandemic and avoiding guidance from public health officials.
“I had seen the president downplay the severity of the outbreak and the White House not issuing public warnings, crafting a 50-state strategy, or sending life-saving medical equipment or ventilators from national reserves to American hospitals,” Hogan wrote.
“Eventually, it was clear that waiting for the president to lead the nation’s response was futile; if we were to delay any longer, we would be condemning more citizens to suffer and die. So each governor followed his own path, which is how the United States ended with such a response, “he added.
Hogan, who said he is interested in a presidential campaign in 2024, also used the op-ed to tell his decision to obtain 500,000 tests for coronavirus from South Korea in April.
Trump has come under intense criticism for minimizing coronavirus risks, even after he recently predicted that the deadly disease would “go away” amid further waves of cases. His administration also faced scrutiny for early delays in testing that took time to respond to the virus. The Trump administration issued a test plan in May that largely put the burden on states to increase their capabilities.
Hogan’s opinion piece comes as Trump urges schools across the country to teach in person this fall, saying last week that he will pressure governors to open classrooms. The problem is likely to escalate tensions between the president and state and local leaders as the new school year approaches.
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