President Donald Trump on Friday advised faith leaders to wait for the country to “get healed” from the coronavirus pandemic before holding services in person.
Trump was asked by a reporter during the White House press briefing what his message was to pastors refusing to follow federal social distancing guidelines by holding services in person. In some cases, these services are expected to take place despite outright bans of such congregations.
“I know there are some pastors and ministers and others that want to get together. And I have great respect for them. Two of them I know. But I would say first, heal – I’m a Christian – heal our country,” Trump said. “Let’s get healed before we do this and there’s time to do that. We’ll do it for, hopefully, the rest of our lives.”
The President also said he would be watching Pastor Robert Jeffress’ service online this Easter Sunday.
Before implementing an additional 30-day guidance to social distance, the President had said that he was hoping for churches to be packed by Easter Sunday. He later said that date was aspirational.
Some aides expect the debate over how and when to reopen the economy to lead to clashes between Trump’s health and economic teams. The formation of a second task force – separate from the health-focused body led by Vice President Mike Pence – could aggravate the impression of opposing factions.
How much power Trump has to “reopen” the economy remains limited. The federal government only issued recommendations on social distancing and business closures, and it will be up to individual governors to reverse the mandatory orders.
And Americans will need to feel comfortable returning into public. A CNN/SSRS poll released Wednesday showed 60% of Americans say they would feel uncomfortable returning to their regular routines if social distancing guidelines were lifted after April 30, the current expiration date for Trump’s recommendations.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.
