Maryland GOP Gov. Hogan message machine counters Trump with daily media offensive
by David M. Drucker
| April 28, 2020 12:00 AM
Gov. Larry Hogan is counterprogramming President Trump with a daily coronavirus media blitz that offers a low-key alternative to the newsworthy but provocative briefings the commander in chief leads from the White House.
The Maryland Republican is advocating for federal pandemic assistance to the states that is opposed by Trump, rebuffing the president’s sharp criticism of governors and bluntly correcting perceived misstatements. Hogan, a Trump critic who last year mulled a 2020 primary challenge, is driving this message through a coordinated operation that leans on proximity to the Washington press corps, his chairmanship of the National Governors Association, and a political nonprofit organization formed to promote his agenda.
“He’s just tried to pursue a strategy of being honest about the facts and what the governors require, but without picking unnecessary fights or taking political shots,†said David Weinman, a spokesman for An America United, Hogan’s aligned 501(c)4 group. “He’s the only person who could unify both sides in this crisis.â€
Some Republican insiders see ulterior motives. Hogan has often questioned Trump’s agenda, rhetoric, and conduct, and in 2019, he was the leading choice of Never Trump Republicans as they sought a GOP challenger to the president. Other Republicans say the governor’s actions are less political and only appear so because, however typical they are for crisis leadership, they stand in stark relief to Trump’s grandiose approach.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/maryland-gop-gov-hogan-message-machine-counters-trump-with-daily-media-offensive
