As President Donald Trump’s administration has repeatedly botched the response to the coronavirus crisis, he has tried to avoid taking responsibility for key aspects of the emergency management and shift it to others. In particular, he has tried to encourage state governors to manage their own crises, even as they often lack the resources wielded by the federal government.
“Governors are supposed to be doing a lot of this work,” Trump said on Thursday at a White House press briefing, referring, in part, to the acquisition of hospital supplies. “The federal government is not supposed to be out there buying vast amounts of items, and then shipping. We’re not a shipping clerk. As with testing — the governors are supposed to be doing it.”
This echoed his previous remarks to governors on a conference call Monday, according to the New York Times. Continue reading.