President Donald Trump's mind does not work in mysterious ways. Facing a pandemic, the president's ways and words stayed the same, but with blunt force flattening the American people.

Crisis defines character. The president's personal politics enlarged in the month of March, shaping a jagged response to a dark hour of national need.

Some grievances were on shop display. Trump refused to speak to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., while a bipartisan $2 trillion rescue bill was hammered out. Other vendettas matter more to the country's outcome, remaining under the radar.

March revealed an insidious pattern: Trump's seething grudge against great American cities, clear on the chart. It's no wonder why.

In Trumpthink, cities are colored blue — true — and Democratic strongholds are enemy camps. A diatribe about Baltimore last summer foretold his hostile stance toward cities, even now.

But first, from the beginning, Americans learned Trump cares a great deal about television ratings and crowd sizes. He took time to tweet on his coronavirus briefings, "President Trump is a ratings hit."

Second, presidential wrath toward the press is well-known. Lately, one-on-one attacks on White House correspondents like Peter Alexander ("You're a terrible reporter") escalated venom to a new level. In his mind, his rants and ratings may go hand in hand.

The coronavirus first struck Seattle, a blue city in a blue state with two female senators. Nemesis Jeff Bezos built his Amazon empire there. So, what did Trump care? He lambasted the Democratic governor, Jay Inslee, as a "snake" and a "failed presidential candidate."

Usually, American presidents seek to bind and unite in a state of siege — not this one.

Early on, COVID-19 was just a "Chinese virus" that would magically vanish. Visiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the afternoon of Friday, March 6, Trump wore a red MAGA cap, signaling a casual contempt for the enterprise of science.

Few knew Trump had disbanded the global health unit former President Barack Obama established for epidemics. His disrespect for Obama knows no bounds; Trump has assaulted his legacy on issues from climate change to health care. This act of personal politics cut official preparedness in an epic public health crisis.

The coronavirus broke all bounds. The grim roll of cities suffering spiraling outbreaks soon followed: San Francisco, Boston and New York. These liberal American cities are not players or properties on the president's political Monopoly board. Trump disowned his hometown of New York, registering as a Florida resident.

New York City, the densest urban space in America, became the epicenter. This was all but inevitable. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo sprang into action, more presidential than the president to the public eye. He knew nuts and bolts, facts and figures, and spoke seamlessly and soberly about impending tragedy "up the mountain." He was the man with plans, building a field hospital in Central Park.

New York State has nine times as many coronavirus cases — nearing 70,000 — as the neighboring country of Canada, thanks to our "lost month," experts say.

Cuomo wasn't too proud to plead for ventilators and medical supplies. "I don't believe you need ... 30,000 ventilators," Trump responded.

In news conferences, Cuomo made plain to the American people the pain his state was in, showing compassion for city dwellers, who live in smaller quarters than most. He struck personal notes, on connecting with his daughter and Italian Sunday family dinners.

Was it any accident that when Cuomo rose in national approval ratings, Trump sobered up about the coronavirus? His briefings still stretched the truth. Easter briefly became a wild goal for seeing America "raring to go" again. Late in March, he finally awakened late to the gravity confronting his leadership.

New Orleans and Detroit, Democratic cities in states that Trump won in 2016, are not far behind as deadly COVID-19 centers. Five hundred Detroit police officers are quarantined. Both cities have large black communities — not Trump's voter base.

Trump complained the Democratic "woman governor" of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, was not "appreciative" of the federal emergency help the state received. He added that he loves Michigan.

Absolutely everything is political — and personal — to the president. The two are one. And American cities face a crueler April because they are not Trump country.

Jamie Stiehm can be reached at JamieStiehm.com. To read her weekly column and find out more about Creators Syndicate columnists and cartoonists, please visit creators.com.

Photo credit: Free-Photos at Pixabay