Coronavirus USA Update: States Could Open Before May 1, Trump Says It's 'Very, Very Close'

President Donald Trump backed down from the legal falsehood he enjoys total authority over states to now declare he's willing to work with governors as they reopen their states for business in the coming months.

Gone was Trump's bluster Monday when he said he has the "total authority" to compel states to reopen their economies for business, even as reporters assailed his statements at the White House coronavirus briefing. Legal experts assert the Constitution doesn't give Trump the power to override public-health measures implemented by states.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday blasted Trump's claim of royal power, saying Trump “basically declared himself king” by brushing aside the separation of powers between states and the federal government enshrined in the Constitution.

Trump's surrender to legal reality also means the governors of seven northeastern states and three western states can go ahead with their plans to form their own working groups to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and coordinate plans to eventually reopen parts of their state economies. Save for one, all these 10 states have Democrats as governors.

Trump said Tuesday he believes some states will be able to lift their social distancing orders before the end of April.

“It’s going to be very very close," said Trump. "Maybe even before the date of May 1st."

Trump also said he will authorize each governor to implement a reopening plan for their economies. He also threatened them that he will "come down on them very hard" if "they don’t do a good job."

“I will be speaking to all 50 governors very shortly,” said Trump. “And I will then be authorizing each individual governor of each individual state to implement a reopening and a very powerful reopening plan of their state at a time and in a manner as most appropriate.”

"The day will be very close because certain states as you know are in a much different condition and are in a much different place than other states. It’s going to be very very close," he said.

Trump still asserts that he, not the governors, can lift the states’ non-binding social-distancing guidelines. These voluntary guidelines include statewide stay-at-home orders and forced closures of non-essential businesses.

“We’ll be announcing a date” very shortly, said Trump. “Frankly, it will be at a time that will be earlier than the deadline that we imposed, the end of April.”