President Trump kept up his spat with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday by saying states need to be treated differently amid the coronavirus pandemic due to varying rates of transmission.
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. New York is a very big “hotspot”, West Virginia has, thus far, zero cases. Andrew, keep politics out of it….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2020
Mr. Trump was referring to Mr. Cuomo’s complaint that the patchwork of rules from state to state was unworkable. For instance, bar-goers who face closures in New York could head to New Jersey.
Governors in the tri-state area announced simultaneous moves late Monday to close restaurants, gyms, theaters and other public gathering spots.
The president, meanwhile, has taken a more sweeping view and name-checked red states like Oklahoma and West Virginia that don’t have the same population density. He suggested Mr. Cuomo wasn’t being stringent enough in New Rochelle, New York, where cases have mounted.
“Just had a very good tele-conference with Nations’s Governors. Went very well. Cuomo of New York has to ’do more,’ ” Mr. Trump tweeted Monday.
“I have to do more?” Mr. Cuomo fired back. “No — YOU have to do something! You’re supposed to be the President.”
Mr. Cuomo is among governors — there’s also California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker — who’ve won plaudits for taking the reins amid stutter-steps at the federal level in testing and sounding the alarm about the outbreak.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who offered the Democratic rebuttal to this year’s State of the Union Address, temporarily shut down bars and restaurants on Monday, but couldn’t escape Mr. Trump’s ire early Tuesday.
“Failing Michigan Governor must work harder and be much more proactive. We are pushing her to get the job done. I stand with Michigan!” Mr. Trump tweeted.
Mr. Trump won Michigan by a narrow margin in 2016 and it is key to his reelection hopes this November.
Moments after his broadside, he said the federal government “is working very well with the Governors and State officials. Good things will happen!”
Mr. Trump struck a more serious tone than usual on Monday, pleading with Americans to avoid groups of 10 or more and use takeout instead of dining inside restaurants for the next 15 days.
Mr. Cuomo said the problem with the federal-state divide is critical, however, citing the ability of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build hospital space.
“Happy to do your job, too,” Mr. Cuomo tweeted. “Just give me control of the Army Corps of Engineers and I’ll take it from there.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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