Trump tours the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 6. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
President Trump called Washington Gov. Jay Inslee a "snake" on Friday while touring the Centers for Disease Control headquarters in Atlanta, as Washington state battles a coronavirus outbreak that has killed at least 11 people.
Driving the news: Vice President Mike Pence held a press conference with Inslee on Thursday to address the state's efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
"So I told Mike not to be complementary to the governor because that governor is a snake, okay. Inslee. I said if you're nice to him, he will take advantage ... we have a lot of problems with the governor ... So, Mike may be happy with him, but I'm not."— President Trump, speaking to reporters on Friday
Flashback: "I have had more than very robust disagreements with the current president, but I want to focus today on the work we need to do … this is a good partnership moving forward," Inslee said in his joint presser with Pence on Thursday. He emphasized that the "life and death" nature of the coronavirus supersedes disagreements with "one individual."
- Inslee competed for the 2020 Democratic nomination and dropped out in August.
The big picture: There are now more than 300 coronavirus cases in at least 18 states throughout America, with the newest reports coming from a cruise ship outside California, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Tennessee. Colorado public health officials are monitoring multiple presumptive case.
Go deeper: 21 test positive for coronavirus on cruise ship linked to first California death