President Trump took unprecedented action to prepare for the 2.5 inches of snow that sprinkled Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. The Washington Post reported that just 45 minutes after Politico published a story titled "Will Trump bungle first big snow threat like Obama did?" on its website Monday, Trump called up D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's office to request a meeting about the city's snowstorm preparations:
To say the request came as a surprise at City Hall, two blocks from the White House, would be an understatement.Presidents have over the years invited D.C. mayors to ceremonial and political events, but no one could recall a D.C. mayor being summoned to the Oval Office to brief the president — not for Nor'easters that paralyzed the city; not when a 2011 earthquake damaged city landmarks; not even after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001."I don't think I've ever heard of such a thing," said D.C. Council member Jack Evans (D), who has represented Ward 2 since 1991. [The Washington Post]
Bowser said it seemed like Trump's heart was in the right place, though her aides indicated the meeting seemed "hastily arranged," The Washington Post reported. The invitation came at about 4 p.m. and Bowser was told to be at the White House by 6 p.m.
"It was a new administration that was dealing with its first storm of the East Coast and its first decision around federal workers," Bowser said. "His intent was making sure that all of the players knew each other and we have the right contacts and that if there were things the [federal] government could be doing, that they were being done."
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