Trump falsely claims that 'when somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total'

Reuters

• President Donald Trump claimed on Monday that "when somebody is the president of the United States," their "authority is total."
• He made the statement when a reporter asked how he would compel governors to reopen their states' economies during the coronavirus outbreak.
• "The federal government has absolute power," Trump added. "As to whether I'll use that power, we'll see."
• The president's claims are untrue. The Tenth Amendment of the Constitution delegates "police powers" to states to regulate behavior during public health crises.
• This isn't the first time Trump has claimed the presidency gives him unilateral authority. He previously said he has the "absolute right" to pardon whomever he wants, and that he has "absolute immunity" from being investigated while in office.
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President Donald Trump claimed on Monday that "when somebody is the president of the United States," their "authority is total."

(Fact check: This is untrue, according to the United States Constitution.)

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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See Also:

• 55% of Americans now say the US government was not prepared for coronavirus
• Bernie Sanders endorses Joe Biden after dropping out of the 2020 race
• Mitch McConnell tried to gut a CDC program directed at detecting and responding to infectious-disease outbreaks

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