His impeachment acquittal may have left him with the impression that he holds the keys to an unbound presidency. And he may be stoking secret pipe dreams that the pandemic will delay the presidential election. But President Trump is clearly getting increasingly fed up with the fact that he is leading a democratic nation and not something more totalitarian.
In the past few days Trump has suggested on multiple occasions that his power to force states to reopen their economies is absolute, an ideology that the U.S. Constitution strictly prohibits, even in a time of crisis. While he’s quietly cobbling together a new “Opening Our Country” task force this week to kickstart the reopening of the economy in May, the federal government can’t push these measures without the cooperation of governors.
But, as is often the case, precedent is nothing more than a technicality to this president. This morning he doubled down on these claims, suggesting that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) doesn’t actually have the “independence” as governor that he thinks he has, before suggesting that “a good old fashioned mutiny every now and then is an exciting and invigorating thing to watch.”
Cuomo’s been calling daily, even hourly, begging for everything, most of which should have been the state’s responsibility, such as new hospitals, beds, ventilators, etc. I got it all done for him, and everyone else, and now he seems to want Independence! That won’t happen!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 14, 2020
Tell the Democrat Governors that “Mutiny On The Bounty” was one of my all time favorite movies. A good old fashioned mutiny every now and then is an exciting and invigorating thing to watch, especially when the mutineers need so much from the Captain. Too easy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 14, 2020
Here’s more on that and other stories we’re following:
What The Investigations Team Is Watching
Matt Shuham is looking into reports that former President Barack Obama will endorse his former VP Joe Biden in his 2020 presidential bid. The move would come just one day after Biden’s former rival Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) officially endorsed Biden’s bid after dropping out of the race last week. The 2020 presidential primaries have been rocked by the coronavirus pandemic and states are scrambling to determine how to continue to hold elections amid social distancing orders.
Kate Riga is digging into the election results in Wisconsin that came out last night, in which the liberal candidate for state Supreme Court beat the conservative, despite the Election Day hurdles primarily forced by Republican members of the state legislature.
What The Breaking News Team Is Watching
Despite the White House’s assurances that Trump doesn’t intend to fire the top doctor on his coronavirus task force, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced legislation this week that would protect Dr. Anthony Fauci from any of Trump’s publicity-fueled wrath. Over the weekend, Trump retweeted a video clip of Fauci speaking to CNN that included the hashtag #FireFauci, a move that Fauci has dismissed as a legitimately held belief. We’ve been monitoring this back-and-forth since Fauci first broke publicly with Trump’s various inaccurate claims about COVID-19 and we’ll keep an eye on Fauci’s fate.
Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort joined the ranks of high profile inmates calling for their release from prison to avoid becoming diagnosed with the coronavirus as the disease spreads rapidly in prisons across the U.S. Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen made a similar request last month. We’re looking out for any reaction to the requests from the President.
Today’s Rundown
11:30 a.m. ET: Trump will have a meeting with recovered COVID-19 patients in the Cabinet Room.
3:30 p.m. ET: Trump will meet with health care executives.
5:00 p.m. ET: The White House coronavirus task force will hold its press briefing.
Yesterday’s Most Read Story
Ohio GOP Gov. Rejects Immediate Reopening Of Economy: ‘That’s Just Not Going To Happen’ — Cristina Cabrera
What We Are Reading
State Department Cables Warned Of Safety Issues At Wuhan Lab Studying Bat Coronaviruses — Josh Rogin
If You Can’t Stop Staring At TV Anchors’ Home Backgrounds, You’re Not Alone — Stuart Emmrich
Hello, What’s This? The Democrats Aren’t In Disarray — Jonathan Martin