Gov. Jared Polis Meets With Trump: Supplies, Economy Lead Discussion
WASHINGTON (CBS4) - Gov. Jared Polis flew to Washington DC on Wednesday to meet with President Donald Trump in person about the coronavirus outbreak in Colorado. Polis, a Democrat, was invited along with Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota, a Republican, for a one-hour meeting with the president.
He said that everyone was tested for coronavirus before they were allowed in the meeting.
"I was invited by the president of the United States to talk about Colorado's needs and update them and that's really not an invitation that I could turn down in my capacity as governor of the state of Colorado. I need to pursue all possible options that can provide lifesaving supplies for the people of Colorado," said Polis.
PHOTO GALLERY: Gov. Jared Polis Meets With President Donald Trump At The White House
A total of 190,000 coronavirus testing kits are on the way to Colorado from the federal government.
As of Wednesday afternoon, there are 20,475 cases of coronavirus in Colorado with 1,062 deaths.
During his meeting with the president he noted specific counties which have done a good job at controlling coronavirus.
"Eagle County has done an amazing job, as has Summit County, Pitkin County, Aspen all those areas. They've gotten it under control because they acted early. They have great county health departments. They looked at the science, they looked at the data, their residents stayed home," Polis said.
He said that despite his trepidation, he felt it was an opportunity that he needed to take advantage of to meet with federal officials.
"We talked about supplies, FEMA is scheduled to deliver their first round of PPE on May 18, and to expect one additional shipment before June," said Polis. "I talked to the President about how important it is to support that program and that it continues into June and likely July."
Polis said he planned to discuss getting more federal aid for Colorado during the coronavirus pandemic. He has called on the White House several times for more COVID-19 tests, PPE and funding for Colorado.
Polis posted a selfie on social media that shows him wearing a mask while on a commercial flight to the nation's capitol on Wednesday morning.
"Flying is quite an experience these days you know it's it's certainly something you don't want to do if you don't have to," said Polis.
He said that it was tense, flying from Denver to Dallas to Washington DC, even though everyone was wearing a mask.
"There were more people on the flight than I would have liked," said Polis.
Polis reiterated his position on mail-in ballots and mail voting and why it remains so popular in Colorado. He said that he hopes the method will continue to spread across the states that aren't currently using mail-in ballots. Polis said he didn't take the opportunity to bring up the issue with the President because he wanted to concentrate on coronavirus supplies and how Colorado can benefit from federal aid during this time.
