| STATE WATCH: “Each of the governors can decide for themselves,” Deborah Birx, an immunologist and coordinator with the White House coronavirus task force said on Monday when asked about decisions in some states to sidestep the president’s guidance about how they can safely return to commercial activity. “This is a highly contagious virus,” she repeated. The United States has 787,960 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection. Worldwide cases are approaching 2.5 million with more than 170,000 fatalities, according to the latest information. > South Carolina: Two weeks after stores closed because of public health risks, South Carolinians are invited again to shop in-person at some of the state’s retail stores, Gov. Henry McMaster (R) announced on Monday. He removed restrictions he placed on some retail stores, including clothing, furniture and jewelry shops (The State). > Georgia: Gov. Brian Kemp (R) outlined plans Monday to allow some businesses that were shuttered amid the coronavirus pandemic to reopen by the end of the week. The order will allow gyms, bowling alleys, salons and some other indoor facilities to resume operations by Friday as long as they comply with social distancing requirements and meet other safety standards (Atlanta Journal-Constitution). With a burst of pent-up announcements, Southern states have raced in all different directions to restart their economies. Trump has sent conflicting signals, praising the precautions and social distancing that prevented more U.S. fatalities while agitating to revive commerce as Americans grow fearful about their health and financial jeopardy. The president hails demonstrators who are organizing to protest coronavirus stay-at-home orders in their states, commending them as his political supporters while critics say he is in essence inciting the public to risk infection, illness and possibly death (The Hill). During a White House briefing on Monday and on Twitter, the president fought back against accusations he made a mistake by rejecting calls for a national strategy for mass coronavirus testing. “‘Testing, Testing, Testing,’ again playing a very dangerous political game,” Trump tweeted. “States, not the Federal Government, should be doing the Testing - But we will work with the Governors and get it done. This is easy compared to the fast production of thousands of complex Ventilators!” The Hill: Trump and governors continue to face off over the number of tests needed to curtail coronavirus shutdown orders. > Maryland: Gov. Larry Hogan (R) turned to LabGenomics in South Korea to obtain 500,000 COVID-19 tests after Trump advised governors they were on their own to conduct sufficient testing to determine when to reopen businesses, schools and travel (CBS Baltimore). The New York Times reported the purchases came after Hogan and his wife, “a Korean immigrant who speaks fluent Korean,” helped secure the final deal with two labs. The president bristled at Hogan’s decision, saying the Maryland governor “could have saved a lot of money” without buying from South Korea. “I think he needed to get a little knowledge — would have been helpful,” the president said following an extensive presentation at the White House asserting the United States has sufficient COVID-19 testing “capacity” in every state to determine who has been infected, with 5,000 pieces of private, university and public laboratory processing equipment sprinkled around the country. Hogan thanked Trump in a tweet late on Monday for sharing a list of labs, which he said will help Maryland as it deploys half a million tests for the coronavirus. 
© Getty Images > Texas: The Lone Star State reopened some state parks on Monday, keeping some restrictions. El Paso’s mayor wants to keep two parks closed for now (5NBC). > Michigan: Residents in the state say they prefer Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) coronavirus leadership to Trump’s, according to a new poll (The Detroit News). On Monday, Whitmer, who is among the Democratic vice presidential possibilities, announced she will cut her own pay by 10 percent in response to the state’s financial strain during the pandemic (The Hill). The Associated Press: Boeing in Washington and a U.S. heavy-equipment manufacturer in North Dakota resumed production. The Hill: Niall Stanage writes that Americans’ trust in Trump to handle the coronavirus emergency has dropped below his job approval rating, a high-risk proposition for any president dealing with public health and economic crises in an election year. *** POLITICS: Former Vice President Joe Biden raised $46.7 million in March, by far the highest total in any month of his presidential campaign, and reported $26.4 million in the bank, but he is at a major financial disadvantage on the financial front heading into the general election against the president. While Biden and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) reported $57.2 million in cash on hand after March, the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) have a whopping $244 million. As The New York Times’s Shane Goldmacher points out, Biden and the DNC could raise nearly $1 million every before Nov. 3, and he would still barely catch up to what the president and the RNC have already raised, not including the money they will rake in over the coming six months before Election Day. > Convention: The RNC said Monday it is moving “full steam ahead” with preparations for the party’s national convention in Charlotte, N.C., later this summer despite the concerns presented by the ongoing pandemic. RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told reporters that the GOP will reassess its options in late June or early July to see if adjustments need to be made because of the virus. However, she noted that the convention is required by bylaws to be held in person. "We are full steam ahead planning a traditional convention, working with our team on the ground ... to conduct a traditional convention,” the chairwoman said. “We do not think at this time we have to switch to an alternative plan, but of course, we will monitor circumstances and adjust accordingly. The GOP convention is slated to be held from Aug. 24-27. The Democratic National Convention was already pushed back more than a full month until the week before the RNC’s quadrennial confab and is scheduled to take place from Aug, 17-20 in Milwaukee (The Hill). “We think by the end of August, we’ll be in good shape,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “I haven’t left the White House in months,” he said later. (The president traveled to India, California, Nevada, Arizona and Colorado in February and was in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina in March.) The Hill: Republican National Committee raised a record $24 million in March. 
© Getty Images > Campaign trail return?: The president wants Americans to return to work and it is inevitable he will try to make his way back to the campaign trail for his trademark rallies. Trump’s reappearance on the trail will force Biden to make a tough decision: Does he follow suit and venture out, too? For now, Democrats are urging that he stay the course. "In essence, Joe Biden is modeling a shadow government and a shadow response to the coronavirus crisis," said Democratic strategist Joel Payne. “With that in mind, I think it's more important he be guided by science and medical expertise as opposed to a game of chicken with the president” (The Hill). The Hill: Trump trails Biden by 8 points despite record high approval: poll. The Hill: New Biden ad hits Trump for feuding with governors over coronavirus. | 
