Governors Respond: A Conversation with Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Re-Opening States and Handling a Mercurial President

How are governors making the decisions on how, when, and what to re-open in their states? And how should governors handle a mercurial and thin-skinned president, who has shown no compunction about denying federal help to governors who don’t shower him with praise? Third Way's Matt Bennett hosted Former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe for an illuminating and candid 45-minute briefing. Hear how governors are approaching these deeply-fraught questions and what we might expect to see in the coming weeks on handling the virus and re-opening their states.

Key takeaways:

• How should governors think about reopening? Safety is first. “If you open up too early,” Governor McAuliffe warned, “you could create another wave of infections, and you risk ruining your economy.” Though states have their own regional disparities, a patchwork of reopenings could pose a threat to rural communities not yet affected by COVID-19.
• Only one in three Americans trust Trump to deal with COVID. And Democrats are more unified than they’ve ever been, McAuliffe said. More voters—especially suburban women—are aligning with the party to vote Trump out of office in favor of more competent leadership. “We’ve learned from 2016,” the Governor said. “People are energized: We’ve registered millions of new voters for the upcoming election.”
• But we can’t allow states to go bankrupt. “If we do not help the states, they’ll be forced to lay off frontline workers.” Funding for the core services states provide will dry up if local economies don’t get more help from Congress. “If cities and states start defaulting on their debt, it will be economic Armageddon.”
• Right now, we need a President who has empathy. “Vice President Joe Biden has the experience, leadership, and empathy needed to lead us right now,” McAuliffe concluded. Unlike President Trump, Biden understands people’s pain during this unprecedented crisis, and he has the leadership experience needed to help us recover.