‘Ask me nicely’: Trump demanded loyalty from governors for help, says book

In the aftermath of devastating storms that knocked out power to tens of thousands of people in Connecticut in August 2020, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) called the White House seeking federal help. Hours later, then-President Trump called back.

“There’s something you want to ask me about FEMA?” Trump said, according to Lamont’s recollection. “Well, ask me nicely.”

The anecdote, reported by the New York Times journalists Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns in their forthcoming book, This Will Not Pass, is just one of a series of Trump’s interactions with governors that struck many state executives as blatant departures from the norms of cooperative governing.