Pirate's Cove

This is one of those times I would have liked to see Trump take a bit more of an even tone, maybe work a bit more with folks across the aisle, but, then, Democrats in governor and city leadership positions seem to want to keep things closed as long as possible. Mostly because they want to hurt Trump, caring little for their citizens in their cities and states. Most Republicans are on board with getting the economy going again

Donald Trump Reasserts ‘Total Authority’ to Reopen States

President Donald Trump reasserted his authority on Monday at the White House to reopen the country as it continues fighting the coronavirus.

“When somebody’s the president of the United States, the authority is total, and that is the way it’s gotta be,” he said. “And the governors know that.”

President Trump’s authority to overrule governors on coronavirus restrictions was challenged by Democrats and the establishment media on Monday.

The president did not indicate he would use his authority to supersede governors, citing his “great relationship” with them, but reasserted his power nonetheless.

“We’re going to write up papers on this, it’s not going to be necessary, because the governors need us one way or the other,” he said. “Because ultimately it comes from the federal government.”

When asked by CNN whether Democrat governors agreed with him, Trump replied, “I haven’t asked anybody, you know why? Because I don’t have to.”

On some points in reopening things, he does have authority, on others, not. But, consider

White House Press Corps Demanded Trump Shut Down Economy; Now Question His Authority to Reopen It

The White House Press Corps challenged President Donald Trump’s contention Monday that he has the “total” authority to reopen the U.S. economy after the coronavirus abates — after pestering him for weeks to impose a national shutdown.

In every previous case, Trump said that the Constitution’s federalist structure gave governors primary authority, but stated that he could also overrule them.

The media pushed him to assert his executive power — which they are now questioning:

• On March 30, Trump was asked to respond to Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) imposing a 70-day stay-at-home order. He responded: “Well, we’re letting the governors do in their states pretty much what they want with our supervision, and they consult with us in all cases.”
• On April 1, a reporter asked Trump to contradict Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who had refused to issue stay-at-home orders at that point. The president responded that he had the power to do so, but “unless we see something obviously wrong, we’re going to let the governors do it.”

There are many more examples in the article, and plenty more than weren’t included.

The president’s stance was the same throughout. He argued that he had the constitutional authority to “supersede” governors and to shut down the economy in their states, but that he preferred to defer to the governors, according to the federalist structure of the Constitution.

Now, the media are challenging the very power they pressured Trump to assert just days ago.

And now the media and Democrats are discovering Federalism, and the 10th Amendment. Wait till they find out about the 9th Amendment and power to the people. Trump does have power in terms of things like interstate commerce, the “No Preference Clause, “restricts how states may insulate their economies from those of other states,” carrying out duly passed federal laws, and the supremacy clause (which I personally think is overboard in terms of execution, since many laws should never have been passed, should have been knocked down by the Supreme Court since they are not within the powers of Los Federales). But, heck, most governors, including Democrats like NY’s Andrew Cuomo and California’s Gavin Newsom, want the nation reopened for business.