Governors Trumping Trump

Despite Donald Trump's insistence that he's managing the coronavirus crisis, our state's governors are the ones who've been in charge.  Many of them--like Andrew Cuomo of New York, Gavin Newsom of California, and J. B. Pritzker of Illinois--communicate facts, explain trends and patterns, take responsibility, and support each other.  They are refreshingly honest, and they speak with intelligence.

What does President Trump do to support their efforts?  If you hoped for encouragement, helpful advice, and thoughtful cooperation, you hoped in vain.

We had an early clue about this when Jay Inslee, Governor of Washington, faced the first onslaught of COVID-19 in a nursing home near Seattle.  Other states weren't facing the crisis yet, and Inslee was largely on his own.  As reported by Politico, Inslee told Vice President Pence the efforts to combat coronavirus would be more successful "if the Trump administration stuck to the science and told the truth."  Trump's response: "That governor is a snake."

Since then, Trump has admonished Gretchen Witmer of Michigan, saying, "Failing Michigan Governor must work harder and be more proactive."  Last month he tweeted that Governor Pritzker "and a very small group of certain other Governors. . . shouldn't be blaming the Federal Government for their own shortcomings."  And just yesterday Trump said that Governor Cuomo wasn't being "gracious" for the aid he's received.

Donald Trump has called himself a "wartime president," invoking World War II and saying, "Now's our time. . . We must sacrifice together, because we are all in this together."  But don't wartime presidents support their generals in the field?  Undermining one's own staff is a sure path to defeat. 

Whether or not the wartime metaphor is apt for the coronavirus onslaught, the need for cooperation between our federal and state governments couldn't be greater.  For this to work, leadership needs to come from the top.  Since it hasn't, governors have stepped into this void, and I for one am grateful.