President Trump said this week that Democrats are targeting him with coronavirus-related closures and lockdowns that he predicted will get lifted immediately after the November election.
He said he’d like to see schools open in the fall.
“The country has to open,” Mr. Trump said in an interview that aired Wednesday evening on Fox News.
“We did the right thing. We closed it down. We saved millions of lives. Now we’re opening it up,” he said. “And I think the Democrats are actually doing it largely for political reasons.”
Mr. Trump said they think the economy won’t be as strong.
“I really believe the Democrats are doing this for a political reason. If you close down California — you know, it’s a big state — you close down some of these places, it’s not going to show,” he said. “Watch. On November 4, everything will open up.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, recently closed bars and indoor eating at restaurants amid a resurgence of coronavirus cases in his state.
Various localities in hard-hit states like Texas and Florida have also been talking about strict lockdown orders in recent weeks.
Hidalgo County in Texas issued a shelter-in-place order this week, but the office of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, said it’s not enforceable.