President Donald Trump has politicized the federal government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, from how it allocates medical equipment and supplies like PPE, to how it responds to requests from red state governors versus blue state governors – and a White House official is freely admitting it.

The Trump administration is sending red states like Florida – which has helped elect with the winner of every presidential race consistently since 1996 – all the coronavirus personal protective gear (PPE) that it has requested, while blue states which he has no chance of winning – like New York – are getting a fraction of their requests filled.

Trump is strongly supporting Florida’s new Republican governor, Ron DeSantis (photo, with Trump), who refused to close his beaches during spring break. That move alone allowed college students to potentially carry the coronavirus back to their friends, families, and dorm mates throughout the nation, fueling the pandemic.

“Officials in Florida have pointed to the close relationship between DeSantis and Trump as a helpful tool in shaping federal policy,” The Washington Post reports. “The two speak almost daily. Trump has formed an especially close relationship with DeSantis, a former congressman whose pugilistic defenses of the president helped him secure a race-changing endorsement in his 2018 bid for governor. Trump will probably need the 29 electoral votes of his adopted homestead to win reelection.”

The Post suggests it was DeSantis’ complaints that fueled Trump’s threat this past weekend to quarantine the tri-state area..

“During a phone call on Saturday, DeSantis complained about people with the coronavirus traveling from New York to Florida. Minutes later, Trump publicly said he was considering a quarantine for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. He ultimately decided against it.”

It’s not just policy that Trump is helping DeSantis with.