2020年5月19日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在DC华盛顿白宫罗斯福厅发表演讲。
唐纳德·特朗普总统周五下令立即重新开放因冠状病毒大流行而关闭了数周的教堂。
“如果他们不这样做，我将推翻州长，”特朗普周五在白宫发表简短讲话，此前几天他曾暗示计划呼吁重新开放。“在美国，我们需要更多的祈祷，而不是更少。”
特朗普没有接受记者的回答，不清楚他会行使什么权力超越州长。
在周五的新闻发布会上，新闻秘书凯丽·麦克纳尼多次被问及此事，但他拒绝回答。
“总统将强烈鼓励每个州长允许他们的教堂重新开放，”她告诉记者。“我们都希望这个星期天，全国各地的人们都可以向他们的神祈祷。”
特朗普在最近几天的一系列会议和公开讲话中强调了他对教堂重开的渴望。
周四在密歇根与黑人社区领袖会面时，特朗普被问及为何在重新开放计划中优先考虑教堂。
“我认为教堂，对我来说，对我们国家的精神来说，是如此重要。我的意思是，对我来说，他们使用‘基本’这个词，”他说。“我认为教堂至关重要。它们是如此重要。人们希望呆在他们的教堂里。”
“坐在家里，在笔记本电脑上看一些东西是很棒的，但这永远不会像在教堂里和朋友在一起一样，”他补充道。
特朗普告诉该组织，他亲自指示疾病控制和预防中心在周末前发布安全重开教堂的指导方针。
这新指南包括向当地卫生官员咨询、保持适当的卫生用品、要求布面覆盖物、遵守安全距离、避免在会员之间分享物品以及遵循其他缓解措施。
特朗普在周五的声明中指出，在几乎全国范围的关闭期间，酒店和堕胎诊所被允许继续营业，因为它们符合“基本”服务的条件，但教堂没有。
“这是不对的，”特朗普说。
特朗普努力让去教堂的人回到已经空了几周的长椅上，与此同时，有报道称，与重新开放的教堂有关的疫情爆发。
在一份声明中得克萨斯州加尔维斯顿-休斯顿大主教管区说几名成员，包括两名庆祝最近弥撒的牧师，检测结果呈阳性，促使其圣灵教堂的所有服务立即恢复。
疾控中心发布本周的一份报告突出了阿肯色州一场与乡村教堂有关的冠状病毒爆发。根据疾病预防控制中心的调查结果，在教堂的92名参加者中，有35人的COVID-19检测呈阳性，包括3人死亡。他们追踪了接触情况，并确认在社区中又有26例病例传播，包括一例死亡。
周四晚上，特朗普与1600多名宗教领袖通了三个多小时的电话，在正式宣布新指令之前先预览一下。
家庭研究委员会主席托尼·帕金斯在接受《新闻周刊》采访时表示:“(重新开放)是被强烈传达的问题之一。”。
珀金斯是特朗普最亲密的基督教保守派盟友之一，他表示，总统的目标是为重新开放教堂提供指导，使教堂恢复服务更加安全。
“教堂要开放了，”珀金斯说。“需要有人提供指导。”
他说，珀金斯还直接与疾控中心主任讨论了这些计划。
珀金斯说，总统的目标是根据宗教需求调整现有的恢复商业和社会活动的指南，并确保教堂的安全。
麦克纳尼没有直接回答总统是否会支持宗教领袖无视州长不允许重新开放的命令的问题。
“总统已经非常明确，他希望教堂重新开放，”她告诉记者。
路易斯安那州人珀金斯(Perkins)表示，特朗普政府不支持像路易斯安那州一名牧师这样的活动，这名牧师因藐视州长的家庭秩序和举行吸引了数千人参加的集体礼拜仪式而获得了全国关注。
“托尼·斯普拉特属于他自己的范畴，”珀金斯说，他曾与当地执法部门见过面，试图阻止他举行仪式。“他没有反映出绝大多数教堂的立场。”
Trump Orders Immediate Reopening of Places of Worship, Says He'll Override Governors If They Refuse To Open
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House May 19, 2020 in Washington, DC.
President Donald Trump ordered Friday the immediate reopening of churches that have been closed for weeks amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"If they don't do it, I will override the governors," Trump said in brief remarks at the White House on Friday after days of signaling that he planned to call for the reopening. "In America we need more prayer, not less."
Trump didn't take answers from reporters and it's unclear what authority he would exert to overstep governors.
Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany would not answer when repeatedly asked during Friday's briefing.
"The president will strongly encourage every governor to allow their churches to reopen," she told reporters. "We can all hope that this Sunday, people are allowed to pray to their gods all across the country."
Trump has highlighted his eagerness for churches to reopen during a series of meetings and public remarks in recent days.
During a meeting with black community leaders in Michigan on Thursday, Trump was asked why he was prioritizing churches in the reopening plans.
"I think churches, to me, they're so important, in terms of the psyche of our country. I mean, to me, they use the word 'essential,'" he said. "I think churches are essential. They're so important. People want to be in their churches."
"It's wonderful to sit home and watch something on a laptop, but it can never be the same as being in a church and being with your friends," he added.
Trump told the group he personally instructed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to release guidelines for the safe reopening of churches ahead of the weekend.
The new guidance includes directions to consult with local health officials, maintain proper hygiene supplies, require cloth face coverings, observe safe distancing, avoid sharing items among congregants and follow other mitigation measures.
During his Friday announcement, Trump noted that liquor stores and abortion clinics had been allowed to remain open during the near nation-wide shutdown because they qualified as "essential" services but churches didn't.
"It's not right," Trump said.
Trump's push to return churchgoers to pews that have been empty for weeks comes amid reports of outbreaks linked to churches that have reopened.
In a statement, the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in Texas said several members, including two priests who celebrated recent Masses, had tested positive, prompting the immediate reshuttering of all services at its Holy Ghost Church.
The CDC released a report this week highlighting a coronavirus outbreak in Arkansas linked to a rural church. According to the CDC's findings, 35 of 92 attendees at the church tested positive for COVID-19, including three deaths. They tracked contact and confirmed the spread to 26 more cases in the community, including one death.
Trump spoke with more than 1,600 faith leaders by phone for more than three hours Thursday evening to preview the new directive before formally announcing it.
"(Reopening) was one of the issues that was communicated very strongly," Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, who was on the president's call, told Newsweek.
Perkins, who has been one of Trump's closest Christian conservative allies, said the president's goal was to provide guidance for reopening to make it safer for churches to resume services.
"The churches are gonna open," Perkins said. "Somebody needs to provide guidance."
Perkins also spoke directly with the CDC director about the plans, he said.
The president's goal, Perkins said, is to tailor already-existing guidance for resuming business and social activities to religious needs and make churches safe.
McEnany didn't directly answer a question of whether the president would support faith leaders ignoring orders from governors who don't allow reopening.
"The president's been very clear, he wants the churches to reopen," she told reporters.
Perkins, a Louisiana native, said the Trump administration doesn't support activities like those of a Louisiana pastor who has gained national attention for flouting the governor's stay-at-home order and holding mass worship services that have attracted thousands of attendees.
"Tony spell is in a category by himself," Perkins said of the Life Tabernacle Church pastor who Perkins met with alongside local law enforcement in an attempt to discourage him from holding services. "He doesn't reflect where the vast majority of churches are with that."
