Total Authority:  As alliances of East and West coast governors form to decide when and how to re-open their states, President Trump declared yesterday that he has “absolute” authority to make those decisions. “When someone is president of the United States, the authority is total,” Trump said as reporters in the room went slack jawed.

  Gov. Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania said at a news conference, “Well, seeing as we had the responsibility for closing the state down, I think we probably have the primary responsibility for opening it up.”

  Governors of Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island agreed to create a committee of public health and economic advisers to consult about opening their states. Governors of California, Oregon, and Washington made a similar agreement.

  But Trump said at his briefing, “The authority of the president of the United States, having to do with the subject we’re talking about, is total.” He said, “The president of the United States calls the shots.”

  After Trump complained at the opening of his briefing about the press coverage he’s been getting, The White House ran what amounted to a propaganda tape promoting the President’s decision making during the pandemic. The video listed decisions Trump made while airing admiring comments by state governors, bypassing some of the foolish and ignorant things Trump himself has said and done during the pandemic. His presentation was all about himself and the perfection of his performance in the crisis, but it skipped over what the administration did during the month of February when Trump was dismissing the threat.

  When it was clear that it was a propaganda video, CNN cut away for discussion. 

  When the tape was done, Trump resumed extolling the decision making of himself and his advisers. On hearing that, CNN cut away again. Anchor Wolfe Blitzer said, “It underscores how sensitive he is to all the criticism he’s been receiving.” 

 During questioning, Trump said, “Everything we did was right.” 

The Numbers: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he believes his state has hit a plateau in the virus crisis with 673 deaths in the last 24 hours.

  Overall, the country lost another 1,540 people. The US has had 23,649 coronavirus deaths and 582,594 identified cases.

The Long Trail: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has at last endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for President. In a livestream appearance, Biden said to Bernie, “I’m going to need you. Not just to win the campaign, but to govern.”

  Sanders is a diehard and so are his supporters. His endorsement is a signal to his people that they need to get on board with Biden to beat Donald Trump in the fall. He said to Biden, “I endorse to make certain that we defeat somebody who I believe, and I’m just speaking just for myself now, is the most dangerous president in the modern history of this country.”

  Biden, by the way, also won the Wisconsin primary that state Republicans insisted should go ahead despite the pandemic.

  Also important in Wisconsin, liberal challenger Jill Karofsky knocked off the conservative incumbent Daniel Kelly for a seat on the state’s Supreme Court. Kelly had been supported by President Trump.

Twister: As many as 32 people are dead and hundreds of thousands left without power after violent storms swept through the South Sunday and Monday.

  Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi all declared states of emergency after wind storms and tornadoes wrecked buildings and brought flash flooding. 

The Bulletin Board: A sailor aboard the USS Roosevelt has died of the coronavirus. The ship’s captain was fired after his memo warning of the disease spreading on the aircraft carrier was leaked to the press. — One of the largest pork processing plants in the US is shutting down because of the coronavirus crisis. Smithfield foods closed its plant in Sioux falls where about 200 people have contracted the disease. —  The virus has run rampant through Chicago’s Cook County jail with 500 infections among staff and inmates, with three deaths. — Delayed by the coronavirus, the Census Bureau plans to ask Congress to delay delivery of population data for political reapportionment by 120 days, putting it off to April 30, 2021.  — With speculation that President Trump is on the verge of firing Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious diseases specialist, the White House announced there is no plan to do that. — ABC’s “Good Morning America” anchor George Stephanopoulos announced that he has the coronavirus. 

The Obit Page: Virginia evangelical Bishop Gerald Glenn, 66, who defied warnings about the danger of gatherings during the pandemic and vowed to keep preaching “unless I’m in jail or the hospital,” died over the weekend with the coronavirus. His death was announced during an Easter sermon delivered by a church elder on a Facebook page.

Meltdown: CNN anchor Chris Cuomo had a bit of a coronavirus meltdown on his Sirius XM radio show. He’s had the coronavirus for weeks and said its made him re-evaluate what he does for a living.

  “I don’t like what I do professionally,” he said. “I don’t think it’s worth my time.” Cuomo said he’s been smart with his money and doesn’t need any more.

  Cuomo said he’s sick of “talking to Democrats about things that I don’t really believe they mean” and “talking to Republicans about them parroting things they feel they have to say.”

  We’ll see what he says when his fever goes away.

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