Trump sent ventilators as political favour for Republican senator, congresswoman claims

The president will send 100 ventilators to Colorado for coronavirus patients

A Colorado representative has claimed President Donald Trump sent much-needed ventilators to her state as a political favour for a Republican senator.

It was announced on Wednesday the federal government would be sending 100 ventilators to Colorado from the federal stockpile after a phone call the president had with Senator Cory Gardner the previous night.

"Will be immediately sending 100 Ventilators to Colorado at the request of Senator Gardner," the president wrote in a tweet.

Mr Trump added that the equipment will "be there shortly" during the White House's press briefing on Wednesday.

But Congresswoman Diana DeGette, a Democrat in Colorado, told CNN she thought the favour was to help aid Mr Gardner. The Republican is one of the most vulnerable in the upcoming November election.

"I think this thing that happened with Senator Gardner and President Trump is very disturbing," she said. "What is the process here?"

Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, and the state delegation previously requested 10,000 ventilators from the federal government to help the anticipated Covid-19 patients. But this request was met with no immediate action from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The state then decided to purchase 500 ventilators from a private company so it could respond to any future needs of patients before Mr Trump decided to send more.

When asked if she thought the ventilators were sent as political persuasion, Ms DeGette said: "It seems that way to me."

Mr Gardner appeared on Fox News to discuss the gift of 100 ventilators from the president, saying he was "thankful" to the Trump administration for providing what was needed.

"The governor has been searching for ventilators and FEMA has also been searching for ventilators. I talked to the president last night about the Colorado need for ventilators, and of course, I'm very thankful that he provided that last night," Mr Gardner said. "We're going to continue to work with the president for more and continue to meet Colorado's needs, but I think it's just a sign that we are fighting for Colorado."

Vice President Mike Pence and Dr Deborah Birx, who are both on the White House's coronavirus task force, were asked on Wednesday about the gift of 100 ventilators, specifically if a personal relationship with the administration was required in order to secure necessary medical supplies.

"We've been watching Denver very closely, and like many of the other key areas that I touched on, we're beginning to see some encouraging news in our interactions with the governor and with local officials and with the senator," Mr Pence said.

"We've made an effort not only in Colorado, but around the country, to be particularly responsive to states where we've seen a growth in cases."

Dr Birx added: "I can tell you that within that decision complex is not just the absolute number of cases, it's the hospital capacity and what each of those hospitals have."

Colorado has 5,655 confirmed infections and 193 deaths from the novel virus, according to Johns Hopkins University.