Video by CBS News

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump tried to calm nerves amid the global outbreak of coronavirus while touring the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on Friday, but the visit took a political turn after he slammed Washington state's Democratic governor who is grappling with the rapidly growing epidemic.

Trump said he warned Vice President Mike Pence not to trust Gov. Jay Inslee during his Thursday visit to Washington state, which has been among the hardest hit areas across the U.S. with 10 deaths reported so far. Inslee previously ran for the Democratic presidential nominee and has in the past been critical of the president.

© JIM WATSON, AFP via Getty Images US President Donald Trump speaks during a tour of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 6, 2020.

"I told Mike not to be complimentary of that governor because that governor is a snake," he told reporters while donning a "Keep America Great" hat at the CDC in Atlanta. "We have a lot of problems with the governor."

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In a series of tweets Friday evening, Inslee said: "My single focus is and will continue to be the health and well-being of Washingtonians," adding that "the vice president's visit and our teams are working well together."

My single focus is and will continue to be the health and well-being of Washingtonians. It's important for leaders to speak with one voice. I just wish the president and vice president could get on the same page. https://t.co/VAzB9nkcRX — Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) March 6, 2020

Trump's visit to the federal agency battling the growing coronavirus epidemic comes after CDC officials faced backlash for developing and mailing flawed testing kits. The agency said it fixed the glitch.

"Anybody that wants a test can get a test," Trump said Friday despite concerns over delayed distribution of testing kits.

"And the tests are all perfect like the letter was perfect and the transcript," he added in an apparent reference to his phone call with Ukraine's president, which led to his impeachment.

The CDC is expected ship 1.1 million tests by Saturday, according to Stephen Hahn, commissioner of Food and Drug Administration. Pence told reporters at a press briefing Friday evening that tests will be widely available in a "matter of weeks, not months."

© JIM WATSON, AFP via Getty Images US President Donald Trump (2nd L) speaks next to US Health and Human Service Secretary Alex Azar (L), CDC Director Robert Redfield (2nd R), and CDC Associate Director for Laboratory Science and Safety (ADLSS) Dr. Steve Monroe during a tour of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 6, 2020.

Earlier on Friday Trump called off the planned visit to the CDC after the agency alerted the White House a CDC staff member was suspected to have contracted coronavirus.

Before traveling to Tennessee to inspect storm damage after tornadoes wreaked havoc and left 24 people dead this week, Trump told reporters he wanted to keep the CDC visit on his Friday schedule.

"I would prefer going...now that the test came out negative," he told reporters at the White House. "They’re trying to work it out that I do go.”

White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham later told reporters aboard Air Force One the trip was back on and the president would travel to Atlanta after leaving Tennessee.

The president's visit to Atlanta came after he signed an $8.3-billion supplemental spending package to combat the rapid spread of coronavirus approved by Congress earlier this week.

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“We’ve signed the $8.3 billion. I asked for two and half and I got $8.3 and i'll take it," he told reporters.

The package, which passed the Senate on Thursday, will replace the initial White House request of $2.5 billion, an amount roundly criticized by lawmakers as too little to combat the virus that continues to spread globally and has so far killed at least 12 people in the U.S.

Earlier on Friday the White House said the president's visit had been canceled because he didn't want to interfere with the center's battle against the rapid spread of coronavirus.

"The President is no longer traveling to Atlanta today. The CDC has been proactive and prepared since the very beginning and the President does not want to interfere with the CDC's mission to protect the health and welfare of their people and the agency," the White House said in a statement.

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The U.S. confirmed 233 cases of COVID-19, with new cases reported in Colorado, Maryland, Nevada and New Jersey on Thursday. At least 12 Americans and more than 3,400 people globally have died from the virus. The worldwide total of coronavirus cases reached more than 100,000 on Friday morning.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump praises CDC amid coronvirus outbreak, calls Washington governor 'a snake' during visit to agency