"I will be speaking to all 50 governors very shortly and I will then be authorizing each individual governor of each individual state to implement a reopening, and a very powerful reopening plan, of their state at a time and in a manner as most appropriate."
President Trump's comment yesterday, backing away from his claim that his "authority is total," while still claiming a power he does not have.
Trump has said "I think they WILL listen. They want to get re-elected."
So yeah, he went back on his "I have the power" statement - but not really.
We'll see which governors wish to go against advice from the White House when it comes to reopening. I think it will be carefully crafted, with input from each of the governors - and they will be more united than you imagine.
I am reminded of what Anderson Cooper once said to Jeffery Lord: If Trump took a dump on his desk you would defend him.
Trump cannot reopen states. He had to walk that back when a 9th Grade Civics student pointed out his error. He then claimed he would "authorize" governors to open their states, another power he does not possess and an authorization governors do not need.
IF he had declared a nationwide shut down, he could lift that, leaving in place for the states, counties or municipalities to declare or lift their own. He can "authorize" them to lift theirs 8n the same way he can "authorize" me to take a shit. I am not sure if he does not have a clue about how our federal system works, or if this is just one more symptom of his raging, uncontrollable narcissism.