Coronavirus: Donald Trump speaks of mutiny as New York’s Andrew Cuomo says president is not a king
- Governor said he would refuse any order to reopen state too soon and risk reigniting outbreak
- Trump’s May 1 target date ‘overly optimistic’, top adviser Anthony Fauci says
US President Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that some Democratic governors were “mutineers” after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he would refuse any order to reopen the economy too soon and risk reigniting the coronavirus outbreak.
The debate continued even as the president’s top infectious disease adviser said the same day that Trump’s May 1 target for easing pandemic restrictions was “overly optimistic”.
Cuomo, a Democrat whose state has been the epicentre of the outbreak in the United States, and governors of six other northeastern states said on Monday that they would formulate a regional plan to gradually lift social distancing restrictions that have shut down non-essential businesses and schools.
On the Pacific Coast, the governors of California, Oregon and Washington state said they also would take a regional approach, but cautioned that any large-scale reopening would depend on a decline in the rate of spread in their area.
“Tell the Democrat Governors that ‘Mutiny On The Bounty’ was one of my all time favorite movies,” the Republican Trump wrote on Twitter on Tuesday, referring to a film classic about a rebellion against the commanding officer of a British naval vessel in the late 18th century.
