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Shortly after the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus pandemic reached 1,500 on Friday, President Donald Trump took to the podium at a White House press briefing and complained that certain states governors are not appreciative enough of the federal governments helpso much so that he said hed told Vice President Mike Pence, the leader of the coronavirus task force, to skip calling governors of some hard-hit areas.

Trump singled out the Democratic leaders of Washington and Michigan, noting that he had advised Pence not to call them as the healthcare crisis plagues their states and people fall sick and die.

He calls all the governors, Trump said. I tell him, I mean, Im a different type of person. I say Mike, dont call the governor of Washington, youre wasting your time with him. Dont call the woman in Michigan.

If they dont treat you right, I dont call, Trump said.

Michigans health department is reporting 3,657 COVID-19 cases and 92 deaths. In Washington, there have been 3,700 cases, according to the state, and 175 deaths.

We have done a hell of a job, Trump said. The federal government has really stepped up.

Trumps message to governors was that he wants them to be appreciative.

The presidents comments Friday come as the coronavirus pandemic continues to shut down American life and states across the nation show a lack of uniformity on aggressive public health measures aimed at preventing the spread of the virus.

Earlier this week, Trump began to push on an Easter timeline to re-open the country, despite warnings that such a timeline was unwise. Even some Republican governors have pushed back. Despite his earlier emphasis on Easter, he hedged when asked about the topic Friday.

I certainly want to get it open as soon as possible, I dont want it to be long, Trump said. But we also want it to open safe, otherwise, what did we do?

At the start of the coronavirus task force briefing Trump said the nations governors have been very gracious, for the most part.

A couple that arent appreciative of the incredible job, Trump said. They have to do a better job themselves, thats part of the problem.

He continued to praise his administrations work, while scorning Washington Gov. Jay Inslee as a failed presidential candidate.

He leveled out at zero in the polls, Trump said. Hes constantly chirping and I guess complaining would be a nice way of saying it.

He then jumped to attacking another Democratic governor, Michigans Gretchen Whitmer.

Michigan, all she does is, she has no idea whats going on, he said. And all she does is say, Oh, its the federal governments fault. And weve taken such great care of Michigan.

Before long, Gov. Phil Murphy in New Jersey and Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York were mentioned as Democrats who have been kinder.

If New Jerseys governor were asked how the federal government is doing, Trump mused, I think hed say great. I think. Hes a Democrat.

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Trump Says He Told Pence to Ignore Governors in Hard-Hit Areas If They Are 'Not Appreciative' - The Daily Beast

President Donald Trump at a news conference on Sunday attacked Washington state's Gov. Jay Inslee, labeling him a "nasty person" and saying he doesn't "like" him as the US's confirmed coronavirus cases skyrocket to over 140,000.

The comment came during a heated exchange between Trump and CNN's Jeremy Diamond, who asked the president about a comment he made at a White House press briefing on Friday about deferential treatment from state officials.

"I want them to be appreciative," Trump had said about governors. At the same time, he also implied that Vice President Mike Pence shouldn't talk to state officials who "don't treat you right."

This topic resurfaced on Sunday, with Diamond reading back the president's own words to him andTrump accusing CNN of cutting off the soundbite although he went on to say that Pence, the White House Coronavirus Task Force, and the Army Corps of Engineers deserve praise for their efforts to control the spread of the coronavirus.

Trump told Diamond that he doesn't directly contact Inslee, who is a Democrat, adding, "No, I don't have to call because I'm probably probably better off not ... He's a failed presidential candidate. He's a nasty person. I don't like the governor of Washington so you know who calls? I get Mike Pence to call. I get the head of FEMA to call. I get the admiral to call."

AP Photo/Elaine Thompson

Trump appeared to be referencing one of the leaders in the commissioned corps of the US Public Health Service.

Trump also touted the fact that he hasn't prevented Pence or others leading the federal response to COVID-19 pandemic from reaching out to Inslee, who is at the helm of a state where more than 4,400 people have been infected and 195 have died as of Sunday.

"I don't stop them," he said. "Did I ever ask you to do anything negative, Mike, to ... the state of Washington?"

Trump continued to rail on Diamond, saying he doesn't care about receiving credit personally, but "when they disrespect me, they disrespect the government."

He continued: "I want them to appreciate the incredible job we're doing. We are doing the job the likes of which has never been done before."

The president also lashed out at CNN, saying Diamond's line of questioning is why people "don't like" the television network and its "ratings are no good."

"That's why CNN is not trusted anymore," he said. "They are fake news. Remember that."

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Trump calls Washington Gov. Inslee a 'nasty person' and says he makes Pence call him - Business Insider - Business Insider

AdmiralBrett Giroir, who is coordinating the administrations coronavirus testing efforts, reported at the Sunday White House press conference that the United States has performed more than 894,000 coronavirus tests to date, cheering that the number has highly significantly increased every single day.

But that figure pales in comparison to a promisePresident Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have made repeatedly, for weeks: that millions of tests have already been distributed throughout the country.

Pence, who leads the administrations coronavirus task force, said on March 10 that over a million tests have been distributed, with another 4 million to be distributed by that weeks end.

Three days later, President Donald Trump promised from the Rose Garden that 1.4 million tests would be distributed early in the week of March 16, and that a full 5 million tests will be available before the end of the month.

I cannot explain the gap, Trump said, referring to the discrepancy between tests distributed and those conducted, during another briefing a week later. Im hearing very good things on the ground.

The White House, when reached Monday, also did not offer an explanation. Neither a spokesperson for Pence nor the HHS responded to requests for comment.

Trump has made other out-of-left-field promises pertaining to testing that have proved hollow, including that Google was setting up a digital resource for Americans to find out if and where they should be tested (news to the tech giant).

But on the testing discrepancy, it is not clear if fewer tests than promised have actually been distributed, or if theres some delay on the other end with their implementation.

What is plain is that one crucial way to quash the spread of the outbreak, as done successfully (so far) by South Korea, is to implement aggressive and widespread testing to find out who has been exposed to the virus.

The country hadconducted395,194 tests as of Monday. The South Korean government has also been bombarding its population with constant updates about the whereabouts of newly detected cases, urging people to report to testing centers if they think they might have crossed paths with the infected people. Since early March, the country has seen a steady decline in cases.

Trump bragged on March 24 thatweve done more tests in eight days than South Korea has done in eight weeks, a claim that seems to be factually wrong, but also relatively nonsensical. The United States population dwarfs South Koreas by about six times over.

Meanwhile, the United States allowed a critical month between late January and early March to slip away without any mass testing, squandering the best chance to contain the virus. Now, the scarce tests in coronavirus hotspots are being saved for health-care workers and people sick enough to be hospitalized, meaning that many with mild or no symptoms can transmit the disease to others without even knowing they have it.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), told the House Oversight Committee on March 12 that the United States current system for coronavirus testing is a failing.

Since then, the United States has skyrocketed to an unenviable first place in the world tally, with 122,653 coronavirus cases as of Monday.

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Trump, Pence Promised Millions Of Tests So Why Have Less Than 900K Been Used? - TPM

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence held a call with some of the most prominent investors and leaders on Wall Street to discuss the coronavirus impact on the economy, according to sources.

Investors on the call included Citadel's Ken Griffin, Third Point'sDan Loeb, Blackstone's Stephen Schwarzman, Vista Equity's Robert Smith, Intercontinental Exchange's Jeffrey Sprecher and Paul Tudor Jones, hedge fund manager and co-founder of Just Capital.

The call Tuesday took place just an hour before Trump warned of a drastic decline in U.S. economic growth if the nationwide shutdown continued.Trump also said Tuesday thathe'd like to see the U.S. economy "reopen" by Easter, less than three weeks away,a step-change from a previous suggestion that the country wouldn't turn the corner until several months from now.

The call with some of Wall Street's top investors and hedge fund leaders was less focused on potential actions the administration could take to mitigate the impact of the novel coronavirus. Instead, it was more focused on how America's top money managers are viewing markets and the U.S. economy, the people familiar with the matter said.

The call also included discussion on what more the Federal Reserve could do to support industries that are feeling outsized pressure as a result of the virus and how the central bank could helpcertain corners of the financing markets from seizing up.

Sources described the call to CNBC's Scott Wapner as "constructive" and that the general idea was that the U.S. economy cannot be allowed to crash. Those people also said that the call reiterated that the virus won't be permanent and that the U.S. needs a thoughtful tack when dealing with the virus and even a date-certain approach to getting back to business.

"They're saying 25 points of GDP," Trump said in a televised town hall appearance Tuesday.

One invisible in the change in messaging is Nick Ayers, the Georgia political strategist who served as chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence until January 2019. Ayers, who now sits on the board of global software company, Veeam, has sounded the alarm on a long-term shutdown to the White House and has served as a backchannel with corporate executives who share that fear. Ayers, CNBC has learned, arranged Tuesday's call with Wall Street investors.

The president said in a Fox News "virtual town hall" event at the White House that he'd like to unleash the American economy by mid-April despite the protective measures instituted by a slew of states to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

"We're opening up this incredible country. Because we have to do that. I would love to have it open by Easter," Trump said.

"I would love to have that. It's such an important day for other reasons, but I'd love to make it an important day for this. I would love to have the country opened up, and rarin' to go by Easter."

The president and vice president spoke with the aforementioned investors about when might be appropriate to ease some of the restrictions imposed by states in their effort to help slow the virus.

Intercontinental's Sprecher and his wife, U.S.Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., came under scrutiny last week after the couple sold millions of dollars' worth of stock earlier in the year.

Last week, reports said Loeffler and other GOP senators, Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr of North Carolina and Oklahoma's James Inhofe, along with California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, dumped shares worth up to $10 millionin the weeks after aJan.24 private briefingto senators about the coronavirus by Trump administration health officials.

Intercontinental Exchange is the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange.

CNBC's Dan Mangan contributed reporting.

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Trump, Pence held call on economy with investors including Paul Tudor Jones, Stephen Schwarzman - CNBC

Mike Pence was on Fox News Tuesday prior to the president*s bizarre virtual town hall. (Why was he yelling about windmills again?) Pence was asked about the possibility of actually using the Defense Production Act to produce the medical supplies needed to fight the pandemic. Pences answer was even more evidence that the Republicans would rather have Americans sicken and die rather than give up their continually failing economic gospel.

"American industry is stepping forward as never before," Pence replied.

From the start, the administration* has treated the DPA as though it were some sort of Damoclean weapon by which it can force compliance from American industries. "Watch out, Ford. Make them ventilators or the DPAll gitcha! This is because, for politicians like Pence, a product of a Republican Party that married itself to supply-side snake oil and disdain for self-government, it is inconceivable to imagine that the federal governments demanding that industries respond to a worldwide crisis cannot be more effective and efficient than waiting for those corporations to engage their civic consciences to do so. And they will adhere to that faith over your grandmothers dead body.

And then there's the administrations insistence that the states take the lead in fighting the pandemic, despite the fact that the governors are screaming their throats raw for help. Markets over government. Leave it to the states. Its the basic gospel of the cult.

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Mike Pence Showcases the Cultish Republican Opposition to Using Government for Anything - Esquire