On Monday morning, President Donald Trump tweeted, “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,” he continued. “It is the decision of the President, and for many good reasons. With that being said, the Administration and I are working closely with the Governors, and this will continue. A decision by me, in conjunction with the Governors and input from others, will be made shortly!”
The claim was so wrong that not even his steadfast defender Rick Santorum could back him up on CNN.
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“Help me out on this constitutional question here,” anchor John King said. “You are a constitutional conservative and you have different views, maybe, on federal powers. The president tweeted earlier today that it is his call.” After listing the many governors who seem to disagree with Trump’s assertion, King asked, “The president cannot order the reopening of the American economy, correct?”
“That’s correct,” Santorum said quickly. “But the president can set a tone.” Speaking over an especially glitchy Webex connection from his home in Virginia, the former senator said that while Trump can urge parts of the economy to reopen, “the president can’t, nor should he try to overrule” the individual governors who want to protect the residents of their states. “It won’t work.”
Before signing off, Santorum issued one more warning to his political ally: “Just because the president says to go back to work, they're not necessarily going to go back to work. They’re going to want some level of comfort and putting a plan in place that does that is key.”
