A group of Republican governors have reportedly been holding private conference calls to share strategies on combating the surge of COVID-19 cases in their states–and to vent about President Donald Trump’s lack of assistance with the crisis, which he continues to insist will just “disappear.”
According to the New York Times, these GOP governors have been having these often late-night calls for months without their staff present.
Some of the governors have also given up on trying to speak to Trump directly about COVID-19 and have begun reaching out to Vice President Mike Pence instead, believing him to be more reliable with handling the pandemic.
One of those governors includes Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, whose adviser, Dan Carney, says that Trump has lost interest in the pandemic.
“The President got bored with it,” Carney told the New York Times.
During one of the governors’ calls with Pence in late June, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) reportedly pressed Pence to help dispel the “complacency” about COVID-19 and suggested to the vice president that he and Trump publicly urge people to wear masks.
Though Pence reportedly told Herbert back then that the administration would begin providing a “very consistent message” on masks, Trump to this day still refuses to encourage the wearing of masks and virtually never dons one himself in public.
