WASHINGTON — A week ago, President Trump chastised Georgia for starting to reopen. “It’s too soon,” he said. But on Tuesday, he cheered Texas as it began resuming business. “Great job,” he said. And Florida may be next as the president welcomed its governor to the Oval Office.

White House guidelines urge states to retain coronavirus restrictions until they meet certain criteria, but Attorney General William P. Barr is now threatening to sue them if he deems those limits too strict. And even as the president talks about opening the country, he has ordered it closed to immigration, even suggesting on Tuesday that flights from Brazil be banned.

With more and more states ready to resume some semblance of normal life, the messages from Mr. Trump and his administration at times have sounded contradictory and confusing. The president is anxious to get the stalled economy running again as the election grows nearer, and he has encouraged protests against restrictions in some states even as parts of his own government counsel caution for fear of rushing into a second wave of the disease.

The contrast was on display on Tuesday even as the number of cases in the United States surpassed one million and the death toll of 52,000 approached the total American military casualties of the Vietnam War. Mr. Trump hosted Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida at the White House to talk about reopening a state that has stirred deep concern because of its disproportionate population of retirees and the crowded public beaches that remained open long after experts recommended they be closed. The president later staged a ceremony in the East Room with small businesses to talk about getting back to work.