Trump Declares He Has 'Total' Authority As President In Defiant Press Briefing

President Donald Trump wrongly claimed during a press briefing on Monday that the presidents authority is total after reporters pressed him to explain how he would force governors to restart state economies during the coronavirus pandemic.

When somebodys the president of the United States, the authority is total. And that is the way its gonna be, Trump told reporters. Its total. And the governors know that.

Soon afterward, CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins let Trump know that his assertion was not true and asked him to explain himself. The president responded: Were going to write up papers on this. Its not gonna be necessary. Because the governors need us one way or the other.

Pressed to say whether any governor had actually agreed that Trump had the authority to decide when their state would reopen, the president said, I havent asked anybody, because I dont have to, and refused to answer further questions about his claim.

TRUMP: \"When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total. And that's the way it's gotta be. It's total.\" pic.twitter.com/zIuiBn1Mhw

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TRUMP: "When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total. And that's the way it's gotta be. It's total." pic.twitter.com/zIuiBn1Mhw
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 13, 2020

.@kaitlancollins: You said when someone is the president, their authority is total. That is not true.

TRUMP: \"Okay -- you know what we're going to do? We're going to write up papers on this. It's not gonna be necessary. Because the governors need us one way or the other.\" pic.twitter.com/NUe1b2BvcT

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Because the governors need us one way or the other.\" pic.twitter.com/NUe1b2BvcT Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 13, 2020\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_hide_thread":{"label":"Hide previous Tweet in conversation thread","value":true},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":675,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1249836658989715463/pu/img/v0GCAl4kEgxtbGQf.jpg","thumbnail_width":1200,"title":"Aaron Rupar on 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.@kaitlancollins : You said when someone is the president, their authority is total. That is not true.

TRUMP: "Okay -- you know what we're going to do? We're going to write up papers on this. It's not gonna be necessary. Because the governors need us one way or the other." pic.twitter.com/NUe1b2BvcT
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 13, 2020

\"Enough\" -- Trump shushes @kaitlancollins as she tries to question him about his dictatorial statements pic.twitter.com/n5jVtgf0cG

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"Enough" -- Trump shushes @kaitlancollins as she tries to question him about his dictatorial statements pic.twitter.com/n5jVtgf0cG
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 13, 2020

Its unclear what authority the president is referring to. He cited numerous provisions in the Constitution. However, the Constitution gives states, not the federal government, police power capacities to enforce order and regulate public behavior during a public health crisis.

The president had tweeted earlier Monday that he, not governors, had the ultimate power to loosen social distancing restrictions, contradicting the advice of numerous legal experts .

For the purpose of creating conflict and confusion, some in the Fake News Media are saying that it is the Governors decision to open up the states, not that of the President of the United States & the Federal Government. Let it be fully understood that this is incorrect....

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2020","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Donald J. Trump","author_url":"https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump","cache_age":86400,"description":"For the purpose of creating conflict and confusion, some in the Fake News Media are saying that it is the Governors decision to open up the states, not that of the President of the United States & the Federal Government. Let it be fully understood that this is incorrect.... Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2020\n\n","options":{"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Donald J. 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For the purpose of creating conflict and confusion, some in the Fake News Media are saying that it is the Governors decision to open up the states, not that of the President of the United States & the Federal Government. Let it be fully understood that this is incorrect....
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2020

Democratic leaders on the West Coast and in the Northeast have announced separate state efforts in their respective regions to scale back stay-at-home orders on their own timelines. Governors in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Rhode Island will coordinate efforts to reopen when its safe to do so, and the governors of Washington, Oregon and California announced a similar pact.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said Monday that any economic restart should be a regional issue.

The optimum is to have as coordinated a regional plan as you can, Cuomo said. It is smarter for everyone, for people of their state and for the people of my state and this is a time for smart, competent, effective government. Nothing else matters.

In an interview on CNN following Trumps press briefing, the governor disagreed with the presidents legal analysis.

We dont have a king, we have an elected president. Thats what our founding fathers did when they wrote the Constitution, he said.

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And the Constitution clearly says that powers that are not specifically listed for the federal government are reserved to the states.