“Sometimes it was thanking them for the work that they’re doing, and sometimes it’s pushing on things that we believe the governors need help on,” he said.

Hogan suggested he had opted to pursue a less combative line of communication with the White House than some other state executives, saying that there “certainly are people who are trying to be confrontational, and they just want to be critical” of the president.

“I represent Democratic and Republican governors in all states, and I’ve tried to be as fair and direct as possible,” Hogan said of his approach.

“But also, I’m pretty blunt about — you know, I say exactly what we think and sometimes that’s not — that doesn’t make the president happy,” he continued. “But I don’t go out of my way to, you know, poke the bear or to criticize him unnecessarily. I just try to be helpful with suggestions about the things that we really need, and I try to push for the things that we need.”

While Hogan has mostly steered clear of scolding Trump for his handling of the outbreak in the United States, the popular governor has routinely been among the most prominent voices within the GOP willing to break with the president on some of his controversial stances. Although he ultimately decided against it, Hogan openly toyed with challenging Trump in this year’s Republican presidential primary.