MSNBC’S John Heilemann: If You Followed Trump’s Lead on Coronavirus Your State ‘Is a Catastrophe’

MSNBC’s John Heilemann drew a stark comparison on Friday between governors who followed President Donald Trump’s line on Covid-19 and those who didn’t. He was discussing a scathing article by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan – a Republican who’s harshly criticized the President’s response.

“Maybe I talked to 12 or 13 governors, some Democrats, some Republicans over the course of the last few months while this was unfolding and it’s been unanimous. Democrats and Republicans, doesn’t matter what party you’re in, they’ve expressed the same sentiments that Governor Hogan did, only they expressed them in private,” Heilemann said.

“President Trump occasionally would say, would try to basically say I’m in charge, I have all the power. And the next day when it looked like it was easier to shift the blame to governors, no,no, it was up to the states. So the governors got the message early.”

“You saw governors like Governor Hogan, Governor DeWine, Governor Baker in Massachusetts, three Republicans who basically said we’re gonna quietly go off and get done what we need to get done, we’re not gonna follow Donald Trump’s lead and basically did a pretty good job for their states, Maryland, Ohio and Massachusetts, and then lot of Democratic governors obviously did the same thing.”

Heilemann explained that some Republican governors followed Trump’s lead rather than striking out on their own, and the results have been disastrous.

“Right now the verdict is in. If you decided to follow President Trump’s lead your state right now is a catastrophe. If you decided to go on your own and not to follow his lead, and just do what was the right thing for your citizens, your state is in a pretty decent place.”

Watch the video above, via MSNBC.