President Trump on Friday demanded that states allow places of worship
to reopen “right away” and threatened to overrule any that defy him.
Marching into the White House briefing room for a hastily called
announcement, Mr. Trump declared places of worship “essential”
operations that should hold services in person this weekend regardless
of state quarantine orders stemming from the coronavirus pandemic that
has killed nearly 96,000 people in the United States.
“The governors need to do the right thing and allow these very
important, essential places of faith to open right now for this
weekend,” Mr. Trump said, reading from a prepared text before leaving
after just about a minute without taking questions. “If they don’t do
it, I will override the governors. In America, we need more prayer, not
less.”
