[Goose]

Rather, I think he will make it a public relations battle, not a legal battle. He will issue new, relaxed guidance, and he will try to rally public support for his more relaxed approach. He will press state and local officials to fall in line with his guidance. Some state and local officials probably will follow the President's lead. But other officials won't, particularly those who have serious outbreaks of the virus in their states. The President probably will pressure them, and he probably will try to blame them for tanking the economy. He may even try to financially coerce them by withholding federal aid. But I don't think he will try to legally override state and local requirements. Just my guess.

Unfortunately, a common tactic by politicians of all stripes these days is to forcefully and unequivocally advocate a policy that they know will never be implemented. The people that agree with them love it. The politician knows they will never have to deal with the downsides or unintended consequences because it won't happen. If things turn out badly with whatever alternate plan is adopted, they can say "If only you had listened to me.". If they turn out well, they either claim things would have been even better if their plan had been adopted or alternatively they just keep their mouth shut and rely on the press and public having an attention span measured in nanoseconds. Usually works pretty well.

[Goose]

Rather, I think he will make it a public relations battle, not a legal battle. He will issue new, relaxed guidance, and he will try to rally public support for his more relaxed approach. He will press state and local officials to fall in line with his guidance. Some state and local officials probably will follow the President's lead. But other officials won't, particularly those who have serious outbreaks of the virus in their states. The President probably will pressure them, and he probably will try to blame them for tanking the economy. He may even try to financially coerce them by withholding federal aid. But I don't think he will try to legally override state and local requirements. Just my guess.

Unfortunately, a common tactic by politicians of all stripes these days is to forcefully and unequivocally advocate a policy that they know will never be implemented. The people that agree with them love it. The politician knows they will never have to deal with the downsides or unintended consequences because it won't happen. If things turn out badly with whatever alternate plan is adopted, they can say "If only you had listened to me.". If they turn out well, they either claim things would have been even better if their plan had been adopted or alternatively they just keep their mouth shut and rely on the press and public having an attention span measured in nanoseconds. Usually works pretty well.