President Donald Trump wrongly claimed during a press briefing on Monday that the president’s “authority is total” after reporters pressed him to explain how he would force governors to restart state economies during the coronavirus pandemic.
“When somebody’s the president of the United States, the authority is total. And that is the way it’s gonna be,” Trump told reporters. “It’s 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: “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.”
