Donald Trump spent the two most precious early months of the national coronavirus response telling states to take the lead on the coronavirus. In a March phone call with governors, Trump famously told the governors, "We're not a shipping clerk." Instead, Trump said his administration was a "backup" for the states if they needed help, to which Washington Gov. Jay Inslee responded, "We don't need a backup. We need a Tom Brady," referring to the clutch New England Patriots quarterback.
But far from even playing a decent backup to the states, Trump has kneecapped governors' ability to get the supplies they need at every turn. Trump repeatedly declined to use his inherent authority to centralize the supply chain for critical medical gear, then he assailed governors for failing to have the necessary materials on hand, and finally, after washing his hands of taking any responsibility for delivering supplies, Trump directed FEMA to start seizing supplies governors had ordered—once again depriving them of lifesaving materials.
But now that Trump is pushing to reopen America for business at the expense of human life, Trump is declaring that he and he alone has the authority to tell states when to relax their social distancing orders. On Monday, Trump complained in a tweet that "the Fake News Media" was saying it was 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. It is the decision of the President, and for many good reasons,” Trump added.
To be clear, Trump has not provided a single good reason in the last several months why any governors should cede their authority to him. Trump has proven to be a fantastic failure in every aspect of the national coronavirus response. But first and foremost for the purposes of freeing up public movement again, the Trump administration still has not provided adequate testing to track who has the virus, who's had it, where it exists, and where it's spreading. They've had more than two f*cking months to get widespread testing up and running and the federal government is still failing in this most basic aspect of battling any epidemic. In fact, many states are now taking testing into their own hands because the federal government has failed so miserably.
So no, Trump, hard pass. Get back to us when you've done even one f*cking useful thing in helping America combat the virus. Until then, no governor who's focused on saving lives will be ceding their authority to you. Go take a long walk on a short pier, as they say.
