Today, Governor Larry Hogan joined former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on WABC talk radio to discuss governors’ roles on the front lines of the COVID-10 pandemic.
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Governor Larry Hogan Speaks With Chris Christie on Maryland’s Coronavirus Response
“The governors are really on the front line of this crisis, and you, Governor, know exactly what that’s like having been a great leader and a governor yourself, and you know you’ve talked to a lot of your former colleagues across the country. We’re all in this together. We’re all fighting this very tough battle—nothing like any of us have ever seen before.”
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“When we had the violence and the riots break out in Baltimore City, you were one of the first ones to call me. And I’ll never forget the advice he gave me after your experience with fighting the hurricane, the damage from hurricane: you said not only do you have to go out and do all the things and be the general making all of the decisions, but you’ve got to be the Consoler in Chief, and you’ve got to be out there, be honest with people, and talk with them and be out there, and I’ve been trying my best to listen to that good advice from you. This is almost like we have a hurricane but it’s hitting every single state in the country at the same time, and it’s been hitting now for 21 straight days, at least in our state.”
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“We were the first state or the second state to shut down all the schools, we were one of the first ones to shut down all the bars and restaurants, and then we shut down all non-essential businesses. And it’s a very difficult thing to do, because we don’t hurt all these folks economically. So many people are not working, we’re hurting small businesses. But we believe that some of these steps that we’re taking, while they’re disrupting people’s lives and they’re causing tremendous fear and anxiety, we believe that it’s going to save hundreds of thousands of people from getting the infection and save the lives of thousands of people.”
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“I’m not really a partisan guy. I don’t care much about Republican-Democrat stuff, I’m all about bipartisan, common sense solutions. And if there was ever a time in America for us to put aside the bitter partisanship, it’s now. We have to work together to save people’s lives. I’ve been doing my best to keep driving that message. This is not a time for divisiveness. This is a time for all of us at the federal, state, and local level to work together. We’ve got to be honest with the people, we’ve got to try to come up with solutions.”
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“Well, they’ve been reacting really well. First of all, they’re listening. They’re following the directives. It’s difficult, but they understand that we’re all in this together. We got to take these steps… One of the things I’ve been trying to do the whole time I’ve been governor is just be as transparent and open and communicate as much as I can with the citizens. And during the crisis, I mean, I can’t tell you—it seems like every single day we’re out there holding press conferences and talking to as many people, because I think getting the message out is a big part of this. You know, people have to be educated. They have to know what’s going on and they’re searching for someone to tell them the truth about what’s going on. I’ve been trying my best to effectively communicate and to one, let people know how serious it is and how they’re all a part of it, that the actions they take are going to help us bend this curve and keep people safe and save lives, but also to try to reassure them, as you said, to be the ‘Consoler-in-Chief’ that, hey, we’re going to get through this together. It’s going to be difficult. It’s going to be tougher than most people imagine. It’s going to last longer than most people are saying, but if we all pull together that we’re going to come out of this thing together.”