Lamont To Trump: Stop 'Verbal Hand Grenades' Amid Coronavirus

CONNECTICUT — A visibly frustrated Gov. Ned Lamont says President Donald Trump should stop tossing "verbal hand grenades" during the coronavirus pandemic. Lamont appeared on Chris Cuomo’s CNN show Monday night and said that governors have the power to reopen businesses and not the president.

"He’s got the bully pulpit, but we are the ones that have to enforce it," Lamont said.

Trump said during a news briefing that, "When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total." He said his administration would provide a legal brief that outlined Trump's authority.

The comment came after groups of governors on the East and West coasts formed coalitions to decide when to reopen businesses and schools. Connecticut joined New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Rhode Island as part of that effort.

"The boat is very tippy now, and this is the time for steady leadership," Lamont said. "So let’s not throw any more of these verbal hand grenades."

The spread of the new coronavirus varies from county to county in Connecticut. Fairfield County saw a net increase of 22 coronavirus-related hospitalizations between Sunday and Monday, while New Haven County saw a net 45-patient increase. As of Monday, 710 people were hospitalized in Fairfield County, and 580 were hospitalized in New Haven County.

"I’ll tell you what I saw when I heard that: This is a president who loves to throw verbal hand grenades," Lamont said of Trump’s comments. "Two weeks ago, he told your brother [New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo] and myself that, 'I want a mandatory quarantine of the New York Metropolitan area.' And we called him up and talked him down and got something a lot more reasonable. Now two weeks later, he wants a mandatory opening-up of everything. I just think he likes us to run down these rabbit holes."

On March 28, Trump said he was considering a short-term "quarantine" of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut due to a surge of positive coronavirus cases. The comments sent the tri-state governors into a frenzy to figure out what Trump meant. By the end of the day, Trump announced that a travel advisory would be put into place for the three states.

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Gov. Cuomo said a constitutional crisis could be on its way.

"If he says to me, 'I declare it open,' and that is a public health risk or it's reckless with the welfare of the people of my state, I will oppose it," Cuomo said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. "And then we will have a constitutional crisis like you haven't seen in decades, where states tell the federal government, 'We're not going to follow your order.' It would be terrible for this country. It would be terrible for this president."

Trump tweeted about Cuomo’s comments Tuesday morning.

"Cuomo’s been calling daily, even hourly, begging for everything, most of which should have been the state’s responsibility, such as new hospitals, beds, ventilators, etc. I got it all done for him, and everyone else, and now he seems to want Independence! That won’t happen!"

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Lamont's executive order will keep nonessential businesses and schools closed until at least May 20. The governor spoke Tuesday morning on 99.1 WPLR about school closures and said a decision on reopening will be made in the coming weeks. He remains hopeful that the next school year will start on time in the fall, barring another major outbreak over the summer.

"That’s why I’m really cautious that we don’t open too soon," he said on WPLR.

Robust coronavirus testing, along with antibody testing to determine who is immune, would go a long way in helping the economy open again, Lamont said.

"Obviously, if the feds took the lead on that, it would be a lot more effective," he said, adding that in the absence of that, the coalition of states would work together on a testing strategy.

Antibody testing would be particularly helpful in Fairfield County because the area was so hard hit by the virus. Many people may have been infected without knowing it and would already have immunity, he said.