‘We don’t have a king’: Backlash at Donald Trump’s authority claims

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Invoking the movie “Mutiny on the Bounty,” President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that objections by governors to his claim of absolute authority over when to lift guidelines aimed at fighting the coronavirus were tantamount to insurrection.

Democratic and Republican governors sounded the alarm after Trump asserted that he and he alone will determine when and how to reopen the economy, despite clear constitutional limitations on federal powers.

Trump, for his part, indicated he was relishing the fight with state officials — particularly those in hard-hit states run by Democrats — who have voiced fears that the president’s ambitious timetable could lead to a resurgence of a virus that is still killing more than 1,000 Americans a day.

“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,” Trump tweeted Tuesday, adding, “Too easy!”

Anxious to put the crisis behind him, Trump has been discussing how to roll back federal social distancing recommendations that expire at the end of the month. He is set to launch a new advisory council Tuesday that will hash out plans to reopen the American economy, which has dramatically contracted as businesses have shuttered, leaving millions of people out of work.

But after weeks of saying he would leave major decisions in the hands of states, Trump abruptly reversed course on Monday, claiming that his power, despite clear constitutional limitations, was absolute.

“When somebody is president of the United States, the authority is total,” Trump said at the White House. “The governors know that.” He declined to offer specifics about the source of his asserted power, claiming he would provide a legal briefing at a later date.

But governors in both parties made clear they saw things differently, and said they would decide when it’s safe to begin a return to normal operations, just as they were the ones who closed things down.

“The President’s position is just absurd,” said New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo in an appearance Tuesday on “CBS This Morning.” “It’s not the law. It’s not the Constitution. We don’t have a king. We have a President.”

New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sununu told CNN that, “All of these executive orders are state executive orders and so therefore it would be up to the state and the Governor to undo a lot of that.”

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, also a Republican, said he, too, expected the call to remain with the states.

“I welcome national guidance and assistance,” he said. “But we will do what is needed in the best interest of Arkansans and I think that’s what the people expect.”

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden also piled on, tweeting that he’s “not running for office to be King of America” and respects “the great job so many of this country’s governors — Democratic and Republican — are doing under these horrific circumstances.”

While Trump has issued national recommendations advising people to stay home, it has been governors and local leaders who have instituted mandatory restrictions, including shuttering schools and closing nonessential businesses. Some of those orders carry fines or other penalties.

Cuomo said that, if Trump ordered him to reopen New York’s economy before he thought it was ready, he would refuse, setting up a “constitutional challenge between the state and the federal government.”

“That would go into the courts and that would be the worst possible thing he could do at this moment,” Cuomo said on CNN’s “New Day.”

At a later briefing, Cuomo stressed that any tug-of-war between states and the White House was a distraction from more important things

“This is no time for any division between the federal and state governments,” he said.

Trump, who has long tried to pass blame to governors, slapped back, accusing Cuomo of “calling daily, even hourly, begging for” lifesaving supplies. “I got it all done for him, and everyone else, and now he seems to want Independence!” he tweeted. “That won’t happen!”

Trump appeared to tone things down later Tuesday as he met with people who have recovered from COVID-19, including former pro football player Mark Campbell and Karen Whitsett, a member of the Michigan House.

“I’m going to be making a decision pretty quickly,” he said, “and it’s being done in conjunction with governors. We have tremendous support from governors and what I do is going to be done in conjunction with governors.”