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sense for Trump. “We typically think of the president as the leader of the whole nation, but presidents also act like mem- bers of Congress do,” says Michael Sances, a political scientist at the University of Memphis. “Tey try to do things for their own base to shore up their reelection prospects.” Te mere act of talking to county officials is a way of keep-
ing Trump’s bond with supporters from rural and small-town areas who complain about being ignored by Washington. “Having that reputation is something that’s noticed back home, outside the beltway,” says Hoelscher, the White House intergovernmental affairs director. “It’s not the biggest news above the fold, but usually with these initiatives it’s local news that these local leaders are coming to the White House.” Te administration isn’t devoting its downward attention
exclusively to counties. During his first two years in office, the president met with governors in person 65 percent more often than Ronald Reagan had at the same point in his term. His office is also launching a series of summits for state legislators, similar to those organized for county commissioners. For county officials, however, after long neglect in Washing-
ton, a White House invitation is so unusual and unexpected that they sometimes think it must be a prank. Amy Galey, a commissioner from Alamance County, North Carolina, re- ported her email to her county’s IT department, convinced it was an attempt at hacking. But the communications keep coming. When Hurricane
Michael was bearing down on the Atlantic Coast last October, the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs called county officials even before the storm landed, making sure they had access to the federal contacts and resources they’d need. Tey keep fol- lowing up after disaster strikes. “Our lead here from FEMA is in constant contact with us, almost on a daily basis, sending us fact sheets about what needs to be done, what eligible mon- eys are available, the process you should use,” says Mary Ann Borgeson, a commissioner in Douglas County, Neb. Tere have been complaints that when counties in red states such as Nebraska get in trouble, they are given A-plus treatment, but when solidly Democratic California counties suffer historic wildfires, the president criticizes them for bad forest manage- ment. Trump’s 2017 tax-cut package eliminated deductions for personal losses from wildfires and earthquakes —twin calami- ties in California — but maintained the tax break for victims of hurricanes in the predominantly Republican Southeast. In June, Congress approved a $19 billion disaster relief package intended to provide help primarily to victims of hurricanes and flooding. Te county customer service ethic promoted by the White
House has started permeating down to various federal agen- cies. Judd Freed is the director of emergency management for Ramsey County, Minnesota, which includes St. Paul. He notes
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that there are plenty of apps on his phone that are great at tell- ing him the weather where his brother lives, but his depart- ment relies on moment-to-moment information from the Na- tional Weather Service regarding local conditions practically on a block-by-block basis. “Under the Obama administration, we did have pretty good access to them,” Freed says. “Under the Trump administration, they have made an outstanding ef- fort to remain accessible to us.” It’s less than likely the average voter will ever know that the administration went to bat for her county on sharing weather data or ending FEMA clawbacks. But voters will hear about bridges being built, or possibly that their public works depart- ment is saving money thanks to environmental deregulation. “Te focus of the national media is on the acrimony and the disruptions going on in Washington, D.C.,” says San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox. “Te White House certainly understands that counties have a lot of responsibilities. So far, we’ve seen some pretty substantive things being addressed.” Te county courthouse gang may not be the machine bosses they once were, but having local officials talk up the president can’t hurt in the places Trump relies on most for votes. Even during the 2016 campaign, Trump’s people were unusually alert to the value of doing outreach with NACo and counties. “Te goal here might be to sway Republicans who weren’t totally sold on Trump in 2016, showing he can be pragmatic,” says Sances, the Memphis professor. “If they hear from county officials that, despite the tweets, he’s doing real things to help us here, that explicit messaging will convince some people on the fence.” Trump has won over some reluctant county officials individ-
ually. A few Republican commissioners who’ve attended the White House summits have admitted to reporters that they backed other candidates in the primaries in 2016, but have since come to believe that Trump has their interests at heart. “I don’t agree with everything the Trump administration has to say — especially President Trump,” says Leinbach, the com- missioner in Berks County, Pennsylvania, “but I’ve got to tell you his actions speak very loud.” Griffin, the “cowboy commissioner” from New Mexico, goes a lot further. Initially, he dismissed Trump as “a New York Yankee real estate tycoon who we know is not one of us.” Now he believes Trump will “go down as the greatest president that we’ve ever had.” Despite the access he’s gotten to decisionmakers in the Forest
Service and USDA, though, Griffin still hasn’t gotten what he wants from them in terms of cleaning up the national forest. He’s confident that Trump will make it right. Te president, after all, has already invited him to return to the White House, telling Griffin there are 20 acres on the South Lawn where he can ride his horses when he comes back to deliver his hat.
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