President Donald Trump is welcomed to The Greenbrier resort by Gov. Jim Justice as part of A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier.

President Trump says he has total authority over governors to reopen states, and West Virginia’s governor says he isn’t sure whether that’s true or even what Trump meant.

“His words, he has total control over the states. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know. I just don’t know,” Gov. Jim Justice said during a daily news briefing in response to a question.

“He may have been thinking in a way that was different than the way it was delivered.”

Trump, who has been at odds with some governors over coronavirus response, first made a comment Monday on Twitter.

….It is the decision of the President, and for many good reasons. With that being said, the Administration and I are working closely with the Governors, and this will continue. A decision by me, in conjunction with the Governors and input from others, will be made shortly! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2020

During a federal coronavirus task force briefing later Monday, Trump was asked about the statement.

“When somebody’s president of the United States, the authority is total. And that’s the way it’s got to to be. It’s total. It’s total. And the governors know that,” Trump said.

Trump added, “The president of the United States has the authority to do what the president has the authority to do, which is very powerful. The president of the United States calls the shot. If we weren’t here for the states we would have had a problem like you’ve never seen before.”

Governors across the country are starting to consider the health risks and economic consequences of easing social distancing guidelines.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, responded to Trump’s remarks in an interview with CNN on Monday night: “The President doesn’t have total authority. We have a Constitution. We don’t have a king.”

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, also speaking on CNN, said he is unaware of such broad authority for the president.

“Well, it is not my understanding of the Constitution,” Hogan said.

“Governors made decisions to take various actions in their states based on what they thought was right for their state, based on the facts on the ground, talking with doctors and scientists,” Hogan said. “And I think individual governors who made those decisions will have the ultimate decision about what to do with their states.”

Justice, a Republican who often talks about his close relationship with Trump, has issued two dozen orders to deal with coronavirus in West Virginia.

Those included the closure of school buildings on March 13 and a stay-home order for all state residents on March 23.

On those kinds of orders, Trump said during Monday’s briefing, “That’s because I let that happen.”

Today, Justice seemed to want to give Trump the benefit of the doubt.

“It’s easy to second guess,” Justice said.

He concluded, “I can’t answer. I can’t answer if it’s accurate or it’s inaccurate. But I can say we should step back and give passes on opinions.”

Clay Marsh, West Virginia’s coronavirus response coordinator, followed up by saying he trusts Justice to decide when and how to reopen the state based on data and the advice of health experts.

Marsh said the governor will make the call, though.

“That’s his decision. That’s a lonely place to be sometimes.”