I think you are giving him undeserved credit.
Based on what he said his powers are, the question to him would be if you knew better why didn’t you step in and take control and help state’s economies come back quicker? Can’t have it both ways, Mr. President.
Maybe he wanted those states to show how badly they’re run.
Maybe, but, he can use it to his advantage now...
You wanted to own it?
Okay...
I tend to agree. The President has no constitutional authority to overrule a lot of what states do.
However, what he can do, and has already begun to do, is exert political pressure on the states. The longer these lockdowns last, the more impact Trump will have in persuading states to get their stuff together, and get people back to work. Who wants to be the last state to get with the program?
Oh, can’t forget, Trump has the power of the purse. He can leverage the states by reducing or slowing the amount of federal funds that are given to the state. That’s billions of dollars worth of leverage.
What he has done by his statement is have the media itself reinforce the fact the States Governors ARE in fact responsible for ending or extending the lockdown.