Loser in Chief

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the People."  -- U.S. Constitution, Tenth Amendment, ratified in December 1791.

   The president is losing the support of two key backers in the news media -- Fox News and the Wall Street Journal. And the long term result may well be that he will be voted out of office later this year.
   The president's claim of absolute authority was immediately challenged by many in the news media, including Fox News Channel's senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano, who cited the Tenth Amendment and noted that parts of the economy were shut down by governors of the several states, and "it is the governors who will make the decision to open it up."
   Separately, the president tweeted that governors who did not follow his instructions were guilty of "mutiny."
   The president claims his "authority is total. And the governors know that." This comment was made on Monday when he said he would decide when and how the states would reopen after shutting down because of the corona virus. But he did not order the closures, and in fact would not have the authority to do so. The federal government does not regulate school systems, nor motor vehicle licensing, nor liquor sales, nor commerce within each state, nor many other activities, and therefore can neither shut them down nor call for reopening.
   There are, or course, many interstate activities that the federal government can control, but these are only those activities that cross state lines. Moreover, the Constitution specifies that any powers not specifically delegated to the federal government are reserved to the individual states.
   New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo replied that he would not engage in a fight with the president, but would simply ignore orders that were unconstitutional.
   Last week, The Wall Street Journal criticized the president for using his daily press briefings to praise his own actions rather than deal with the crisis brought on by the corona virus. Specifically, the WSJ editorial board criticized the president's apparent  attitude that because TV ratings of the daily briefings were so high, it was because of him, not because of public concern for the health crisis.
   In response, the president attacked the Wall Street Journal as "fake news."
   In addition, TV news channels are limiting their coverage of the news briefings because of the president's propensity to turn them into re-election campaign sessions.
   They continue to monitor the sessions, but when they get "too political," as Chuck Todd of MSNBC put it, they turn away, and return to report whatever newsworthy information comes out.
   Similarly, CNN is following a similar pattern, covering the sessions but not broadcasting them in full every day. One reason may well be that the sessions are held in prime news time, about 5 p.m. Eastern time, and drag on for two hours.