The mayor of New York is exhorting Trump to give his city military aid to help in the midst of the coronavirus crises, as we read in a report from Politico:

Mayor Bill de Blasio made an urgent plea for military aid to combat the coronavirus, as the number of confirmed cases in New York City surged to 3,615 on Thursday and the city increasingly becomes the epicenter of the crisis in the U.S.

The city’s death toll from the virus has risen to 22, doubling in the past day. The total number of cases nearly doubled as well, for the second straight day. De Blasio called the numbers “nothing short of staggering” and pressed President Donald Trump to mobilize the military to deliver crucial supplies — which the city could run out of in two to three weeks — and provide medical care.

“The fate of New York City rests in the hands of one man. He is a New Yorker. And right now, he is betraying the city he comes from,” de Blasio said.

New York is asking the federal government for 15,000 ventilators — which can be life-saving for coronavirus patients struggling to breathe — 3 million N95 masks, 50 million surgical masks, and 25 million each of surgical gowns, coveralls, gloves, and face masks.

“At this point there’s never been a greater no brainer in the history of the republic,” de Blasio told reporters. “It is beyond comprehension, it is immoral that our president has not ordered the military to full mobilization.”

Trump has invoked the Defense Production Act, which allows the president to order private industry to ramp up production in the interest of national security, but has said he does not plan to use his powers under the act at this time.