Trump declares war on Washington State, Michigan

Is this anything less than treason? Is this anything less than treason?

Seth Abramson (twitter.com/SethAbramson):

[Thread is linked above, relinked here for clarity]

BREAKING: Trump Says That Due to the Democratic Governors of Washington (3,369 Coronavirus Cases) and Michigan (3,657 Cases)—the Latter of Whom He Calls "the Woman in Michigan"—Not Being "Appreciative" Enough of Him, He Has Told the Coronavirus Task Force Head "Not to Call Them"

I know we don't get shocked about anything anymore, but there are over 250 US dead in Washington and Michigan—a number that's rapidly climbing—and here's the President of the United States openly saying he wants to shut down communications with them because they insulted him.

Washington and Michigan are two of the *five biggest coronavirus hotspots* in the US—see chart below, from Worldometers—and Trump is *admitting* that the federal response is *dependent in part* on how much "appreciation" the governor of a state shows to him. READ THAT TWICE.

Trump made clear the governors of New York (Cuomo), New Jersey (Murphy), and California (Newsom) are sufficiently appreciative that he's willing to call them or have the Coronavirus Task Force head call them. But with Michigan and Washington, he doesn't want calls to happen.

Whether we realize it or not, we've become *so immune* to *real* judgment of Donald Trump—not just exasperation, but a sort of we-have-to-do-something-here judgment—that we hear a statement that could get other presidents impeached and even we as Trump critics sort of shrug.

Trump's presser today made his quid pro quo clear, and was *intended* to do so:

1. If you're a governor and your state receives federal aid during the coronavirus pandemic, you WILL NOT criticize Trump publicly.
2. If you criticize Trump publicly, your state MAY lose aid.

Keep in mind, this is a matter of Trump's pride but *more importantly* a matter of *Trump's re-election*. What Trump is saying is that if you're a governor and you say things publicly that could hurt Trump's re-election... well... maybe a few more of your citizens will die?

Trump's manner of running a pandemic response is *100% transactional*. He believes that governors—much like him—are motivated solely by staying in power, so he assumes threatening their aid means threatening their reelection and thus will be effective at keeping them quiet.

Today Trump *praised* media for being largely "fair" to him. And many people were like... why did he do that? But folks, he's 100% transparent: he's having the highest approval ratings of his term. He assumes—rightly—much of that results from coverage. So he praises media.

By comparison, when Inslee (Washington) or Whitmer (Michigan) criticize Trump, *it gets media coverage*, which risks *hurting his approval rating* and therefore *harming his reelection chances*. So he uses what's *at his disposal*—federal aid and attention—to punish critics.

If you're in media, you should be *clearly* telling Americans that federal aid has become a game of appeasing the president. Those who criticize the federal coronavirus response get differential treatment and risk seeing more of their citizens die. It's f*cking *sickening*.

Today it's Washington and Michigan, folks. Tomorrow it may be *your* state's governor who *accurately* criticizes the federal coronavirus response—and if that happens, *you and your family will suffer* because the President of the United States acts like a *mob boss*.

[VIDEO LINK: https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1243687725389230080 ]

It's important for folks to understand that in crisis management in a system of government like ours, among the few who have a *direct line* to the President/Vice President are governors—particularly governors of the five hardest-hit states. He wants to cut off that access.

Cutting off a state executive's access to the President/Vice President during a fast-moving emergency *100% absolutely without any question whatsoever* impacts the amount of aid that state gets and the speed with which it gets it.

And Trump *knows that*. That's the point.

Arguably the biggest reason Washington State needs the Federal government is disaster relief when things go to hell. We're surrounded by fault lines and active volcanoes. Some day, we're gonna need help.

And now here's Donkeyballs Donald telling us to go to hell in the middle of ... well, not the kind of natural disaster I normally think about in this way, but a natural disaster nonetheless.

You think it'd be any different after the big quake?

I sure as hell don't.

So why even have a national government if we aren't going to have a national government?

Because this isn't one. It's a Republican government, by and for Republicans, and fuck everybody else. And that's how the GOP now operates.

We don't need the Feds, mostly. I mean, we're not California to be sure, but we're a top-25 economy. We're a tax exporter and so much of a goods exporter that last I looked, we had a trade surplus with China.

(That's been a few years. Maybe not as true anymore. But.)

But when shit really goes down, that's when they're supposed to be there. That's why you have a national government. It's literally why it exists.

But right now, Donkeyballs Donald it saying that for us? It doesn't exist.

So why are we even here again?

If this is how it's gonna go down, why are we here?

If Donkeyballs Donald is going to de facto push us - and every other non-fascist state - out of the union, while still taking our money...

...why are we even here?

on our own

When Donkeyballs Donald got elected, I started telling people - including my state reps and Govenor Inslee by constituent mail - that if we had an emergency, we were on our own.

Trump's GOP would straight up say "tough shit" and hang us out to dry, and we had to be prepared for that.

And now, well, I know I was right. Here we are. And it's only going to get worse, because that's how he - and his party - operate. It's not a national government. It's not even an American government. It's a Republican government for and by them, and fuck everybody else.

I don't know how seriously my letters were taken. I do know that Inslee has done as far as I can tell the best job of anyone in North America at handling this. Our infection growth rate implies an R0 below 1 at this point, though I have to stress it's too early to be sure.

I'm pretty sure that's why Donkeyballs Donald is lashing out, of course. Can't have a Democrat doing a good job while he's being the world's worst assclown, can we? No.

And do I expect this to get worse? Of course. Will it get bad enough - like in Mississippi - that he'll try to actively sabotage mitigation measures?

If he can find a way, I think it will. And if you don't suck up to the Great Leader, it'll happen to you, too.

So it's a little late in the game, but if you have any margin for preparation left, fucking use it.

You're gonna need it. Because Washington State and Michigan are just the first.