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Friday, May 01, 2020

Trump Told America’s Governors They Were On Their Own. So Maryland’s Larry Hogan Is Taking Charge

Larry Hogan has got another of his ideas, and this one cracks him up. “I’m gonna call Pence!” says Hogan, startling his chief of staff, Matthew Clark, who sits across a large, round faux-wood table. Hogan, the Republican governor of Maryland, is meeting with his coronavirus command team, a skeleton crew of state officials still reporting to the capitol in Annapolis. The conference rooms are all too narrow, so they are gathered in a cavernous event room, seated in alternate chairs to maintain social distancing. Hogan, a ruddy 63-year-old with jug-handle ears, has in front of him a dispenser of hand sanitizer, a can of Diet Coke and a starfish-shaped conference-call speaker.

The President, Hogan reminds the group, recently chided him for going around Vice President Mike Pence’s coronavirus task force to procure supplies. “Remember, Trump said, ‘He’s wasting his time. He should’ve just called Mike!'” He laughs a wheezy laugh. “So I’m gonna joke with him and say, ‘Hey, Mike, where’s my tests? The President said I should just call you!’ But then seriously say, ‘You both said we can use federal labs. When can we start?'”

“Right. Got it,” Clark says.

“I got a feeling they’re gonna backpedal on all that,” Hogan says.

Like every other governor in America, Hogan is dealing with a crisis for which there is no playbook. The team assembled here began its April 22 briefing on a somber note, as the state’s health secretary, Bobby Neall, read off the numbers: 14,775 total confirmed cases of COVID-19, up 582 from the day before; 631 deaths in the past five weeks, up 47 from the previous day’s count. Hogan was briefed about a possible outbreak at a chicken plant on the Delaware border and about a convention center being converted into a field hospital; he got word that his latest shipment of testing supplies from South Korea had arrived, greeted at Baltimore-Washington International Airport by his Korean-American wife Yumi with platters of crab cakes and kimchi.

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8 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's from TIME magazine...a Trump hit piece. I expect nothing less from them.

Anonymous said...

Actually, Trump has supported the states. Multiple governors around the country, notably prominent democrats in the most hard hit areas including Andrew Cuomo (NY), Phil Murphy (NJ), Gavin Newsome, and Jay Insley, have all praised Trump's response.

Anonymous said...

Hogan the Horrible

Anonymous said...

So, who got the sales commission for this $9M sale?

Anonymous said...

Great scenario of a Democrat. Of course Hogan the GESTOPO is being an Authoritarian Lead by the Democrats.

Anonymous said...

written on a ragsheet owned by a clinton supporter! this is all you need to know about this bs!
who else is standing in line trying to make that pos hogan look competent!

Anonymous said...

Hogan can say all he wants but the proof is in the pudding. Maryland coronavirus numbers going up everyday. Trying to apply for Maryland unemployment is a joke. I live in and MD but work in DE. Had no problem applying in DE. Got my first check within 10 days and the federal portion 4 days later. My wife on the other hand applied through MD. Took her 3 weeks before she received her first check and then another 3 weeks to receive the federal portion. Hogan should walk the walk not talk the talk. His state is a mess but in true Rino fashion it’s someone else’s fault🙄 Between Hogan and Frosh wasting our money this state Is f’d.

Anonymous said...

Governors are NOT competant to be Trusted to do anything !!!

They need a Baby-sitter !!! Fed Gov better keep ck on them !!!!