A seemingly innocuous tweet President Donald Trump posted about Colorado receiving ventilators from the government actually raises troubling questions about the extent to which the president is using lifesaving medical equipment as a form of political patronage.

On Wednesday Trump announced that he was sending 100 ventilators to Colorado — a development he credited to a request from a Republican senator facing an uphill reelection campaign this year, Cory Gardner.

Will be immediately sending 100 Ventilators to Colorado at the request of Senator Gardner! https://t.co/Nj4EPxfZl6 — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2020

That tweet might look unproblematic, and perhaps even praiseworthy on its face. Colorado is one of many states asking for more lifesaving supplies in the middle of a global pandemic.

But recent reports have suggested Trump has been playing politics with the allocation of medical supplies. CNN broke news last Friday that the federal government swooped in and blew up a deal that Colorado’s state government, led by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, made with a private company to acquire 500 ventilators. FEMA, instead, seized the ventilators for itself, leaving Colorado high and dry.

“A congressional source told CNN that many of the orders Colorado places for supplies, including an order for 500 ventilators, has been canceled, because the items are being bought by FEMA,” CNN reported.

Polis subsequently confirmed the report during a CNN appearance in which he criticized the move, saying of the federal government, “either you’re buying them and you’re providing them to states and you’re letting us know what we’re going to get and when we’re going to get them. Or you stay out, and let us buy them.”

Trump has repeatedly deflected criticism that the federal government is doing more to help states by insisting the feds are just a “backup” and states should be doing more on their own. But in Colorado’s case, when the state tried to help itself, it was stymied by the feds.

Viewed in that context, Trump’s tweet giving Gardner credit for Colorado receiving ventilators has a whiff of impropriety. Colorado ended up with 400 fewer ventilators than it would’ve had without federal bigfooting, and instead of Polis getting credit for his efforts, all of it was given to a senator from Trump’s party who could use the boost.

In response to Trump’s tweet, Polis said he was “grateful” for the ventilators. But Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) was less diplomatic.

“Governor Polis and our Congressional delegation have been working to get more ventilators to Colorado for weeks. In fact, Colorado was set to receive 500 ventilators until FEMA blocked the shipment. Now, President Trump says we will get 100 as a courtesy to Senator Gardner,” DeGette said in a statement. “That means, because the president is playing politics with public health, we’re still 400 ventilators short from what we should have received. His mismanagement of this crisis is costing lives and livelihoods.”

The timeline surrounding Trump’s tweet prompted the Denver Post to write a scathing editorial headlined, “Trump is playing a disgusting political game with our lives.”

“President Donald Trump is treating life-saving medical equipment as emoluments he can dole out as favors to loyalists,” the editorial begins. “It’s the worst imaginable form of corruption — playing political games with lives. For the good of this nation during what should be a time of unity, he must stop.”

Colorado’s experience in this regard isn’t unique. The Los Angeles Times noted on Tuesday that hospitals and clinics in seven states reported having medical supplies seized in a manner similar to what Polis described.

“Officials who’ve had materials seized also say they’ve received no guidance from the government about how or if they will get access to the supplies they ordered,” the Times reported. “That has stoked concerns about how public funds are being spent and whether the Trump administration is fairly distributing scarce medical supplies.”

On Thursday, the Bellingham Herald reported that a delivery of Covid-19 test kits that were on their way to Washington state “were seized and diverted by the federal government to the East Coast.” FEMA denied the report, even though it was confirmed by a local hospital system.

It’s not totally clear what’s going on — but it doesn’t look good

Throughout the coronavirus crisis, Trump has attacked Democratic governors like Andrew Cuomo (NY), Gretchen Whitmer (MI), and Jay Inslee (WA) for not being “appreciative” enough of federal efforts.

Failing Michigan Governor must work harder and be much more proactive. We are pushing her to get the job done. I stand with Michigan! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2020

Late last month, Trump even admitted that he’d directed the official running the White House’s response effort, Vice President Mike Pence, to not call Inslee and Whitmer — even as hospitals in their states approached the point of being overwhelmed by coronavirus cases — because they’ve had the gall to publicly criticize the president for not doing more, leaving their states to largely fend for themselves.

“I tell him — I mean I’m a different type of person — I say, ‘Mike, don’t call the governor in Washington, you’re wasting your time with him. Don’t call the woman in Michigan,’” Trump said. “If they don’t treat you right, I don’t call.”

At the very least, Trump’s disparate treatment of officials who have either been critical of him or aren’t politically useful for him is unseemly. But a Washington Post report last week sounded an alarm that the situation is more serious than that.

The Post reported that while staunch Trump ally Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis “promptly” received all of the supplies he asked for from the federal government, states with Democratic governors such as Wisconsin and Illinois (not to mention New York and Michigan) were not having the same luck. It’s not clear that Trump’s political grudges are driving that disparity, but the Post reported some officials are “wondering whether politics is playing a role in the response.”

Put it all together and the picture that emerges is one where the federal government is seizing orders of medical supplies from hospitals and states, and then at least in some instances, redistributing in a way that gives the appearance of Trump doing favors for his Republican supporters.

The government denies that this is what’s going on. A FEMA representative told the Los Angeles Times that the agency developed a system of identifying needs based on “high-transmission areas” and “populations,” not politics, but they didn’t share any details about “how these determinations are made or why it is choosing to seize some supply orders and not others.”

“Administration officials also will not say what supplies are going to what states,” the Times added. But if everything is really above board, why not be transparent about it?

Gardner, meanwhile, took to Twitter to express thanks for Trump sending Colorado ventilators.

Thank you @realDonaldTrump, 100 ventilators and approval of our National Guard assistance is outstanding news for Colorado.



Coloradans are standing together as we get through the #COVID19 pandemic, even if we have to stand six feet apart. https://t.co/0d26KtMeEM — Cory Gardner (@SenCoryGardner) April 8, 2020

What he didn’t mention, however, is that the federal government’s interference actually cost his state 400 of them.

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