Their citizens. Worldwide there are more than 2. 2 million confirmed cases and more than 150,000 confirmed deaths. Lets begin at the white house, our chief White House Correspondent jim acosta joins us. Jim, there doesnt appear to be social distancing or other Safety Measures at these protests were seeing against stayathome orders across the country, but the president is actually encouraging them. Reporter thats right, wolf, President Trump appears to be stoking unrest in states around the u. S. Where conservative demonstrators are protesting against stayathome orders, one day after he told the governors they were calling the shots on reopening the country. One day after the president told governors around the u. S. They were taking the lead in opening up their states its going to be up to the governors. We are not opening all at once. But one careful step at a time. Reporter mr. Trump is stirring up his supporters with organized teapartylike protests to lash out against social distancing measures. New protests over stayathome orders. Reporter just minutes after a fox report on the protesters, the president began tweeting, liberate states with democratic governors. Its been a tough process for people, you know, i told you this, theres death and mreprobs in staying at home too, its not just, isnt it wonderful to stay at home. Theyre suffering. Reporter virginias governor, ralph northam, says hes not taking the president s bait. I will not involve myself in twitter wars. I will continue to make sure im doing everything i can to keep virginians safe and save lives. Reporter the president s tweets point to his own shortcomings in responding to the coronavirus. Mr. Trump is now insisting the states have to step up their testing. But last month he claimed that americans who needed a test could get one, promises his administration failed to keep. Anybody that needs a test, gets a test. Reporter the president was also tweeting at new yorks democratic governor andrew cuomo. Moments later, cuomo responded. First of all, if hes sitting home watching tv, maybe he should get up and go to work, right . Second, lets keep emotion and politics out of this, and personal ego, if we can, because this is about the people, and its about our job. I dont know, what am i supposed to do, send a bouquet of flowers . Reporter cuomo is voicing the same frustration voiced by lawmakers across the country. Theres simply not enough testing to send americans back to work. Hes said multiple times, i dont want to get involved in testing, its too complicated and too hard. Thats why we need help. Reporter the president s Approval Ratings for handling of the coronavirus is down six points from last month. The president is tweeting at Congressional Democrats who have left washington, end your endless vacations. But hold on, republican lawmakers have gone home too. The truth is we didnt have proper Testing Available in march despite his repeatedly claiming that we did. Even now we dont have adequate tests and necessary equipment, which creates unnecessary death and suffering. Reporter the president is also pointing the finger on the World Health Organization and china, despite his past praise of the w. H. O. , not to mention all the times he touted his close relationship with chinese leader xi jinping. Were in constant communication, president xi and myself, very constant. Reporter there appears to be some recognition among some on the president s Political Team that these political attacks in the middle of a pandemic are troublesome and have the potential to backfire. As one trump adviser told me earlier this week, the country has had candidate trump during this crisis, not President Trump. And as for the need for more testing around the country, a source close to the Coronavirus Task force said Health Officials are expected to offer more details on that front at the upcoming briefing. Wolf, that is expected to start at 6 00. Were standing by for that. Jim acosta, thank you very much. Were expecting also to hear from several governors at this hour, well be monitoring their news conference. Stay with us for that as well. Meanwhile, were learning new details of a call today between the Vice President , mike pence, and Democratic Senators who were voicing their angry at the trump administration. Lets go to our Congressional Correspondent lauren fox, working this part of the story for us. Lauren, what is the main criticism of these democrats . Reporter well, this was a call essentially for the Vice President to brief senators on their plan to reopen states and economies across the country. But senators were pressing the Vice President today on how in the world the administration is going to ensure there were enough states who had testing to actually get some of these states opened up again. What im told from multiple senators ive had conversations with this afternoon is that there was no clear answer. In fact things got so heated, and one senator felt like things were boiling over so much that senator angus king, an independent who caucuses with the democrats, told the Vice President that this was a dereliction of duty for the administration, and, quote, i have never been so mad about a phone call in my life. That is according to one democratic source who was on this call. Im also told by senator brian schatz that what he heard was more promises that testing would be there without any affirmation about how the administration was going to ensure it was true. He said it was promises that he has heard before, including last week, last month, and the month before that, wolf. Lauren, i understand there was also some serious tension over the president s tweets about supposedly liberating states from all the social distancing restrictions. Reporter thats right. Were told, my colleague betsy klein has learned that senator tim kaine at the end of this call pressed the Vice President on why is the president tweeting things about liberating states, that that wasnt helpful, that wasnt getting members to be united with the administration and coming up with a plan to reopen. And the Vice President , were told, didnt actually answer the question, he deflected, said that they are working respectfully with governors. Senator tim kaine fired back and said these tweets were not, quote, respectful. Well hear what the Vice President has to say, presumably, at this upcoming briefing. Lauren fox reporting for us, lauren, thank you. Lets get the latest now on how the pandemic is playing out across the United States. Our national correspondent, erica hill, is in new york for us. Erica, still a very grim situation up there, i understand. Reporter you know, it is at this point. We are obviously still dealing with the virus here in new york state. Whats also been fascinating to watch throughout the day, wolf, is how the conversation is changing around the country, as so many states react to these guidelines from the president and make clear what they need to even get close to phase i. This is mayhem. We need a coordinated approach between the federal government and the states. Reporter new York Governor Andrew Cuomo repeating his plea for help with testing supplies and funding. The federal government cannot wipe their hands of this. Reporter as states react to the president s new guidelines, further evidence there is no onesizefitsall plan. It looks like a number of states in the south, for example, will have smaller epidemics than were expected. Places like new york seem to be stuck at the peak for longer than we originally expected. Reporter the number of hospitalizations is decreasing in new york city. But all events there are now canceled for the month of may. Texas schools will remain closed, but not state parks. In jacksonville, beaches are reopening today with limited hours. Folks, this could be the beginning of the pathway back to normally life. But please respect and follow these limitations. Reporter mississippis shelterinplace order is extended to april 27th. I know we cannot stay in this position for much longer. But we are still in the eye of the storm. Reporter as new jerseys governor warns face coverings may be here through the fall. I would bet the answer is yes, that we will be masked when kids go back to school. Reporter and a handful of protesters push for fewer restrictions in minnesota and virginia. You cant keep Healthy People locked in their houses and watch the economy just go down. Reporter in michigan, the governor doubling down. Better to be six feet apart right now than six feet under. And that is the whole point of this. Reporter in san antonio, seemingly endless lines for food. And across the country, outrage and concern for some of the most vulnerable americans. When they lock down, we have no connection with our mom. Reporter new jersey ordering an investigation after more than a dozen bodies were found in this facility, now linked to 36 covid19 deaths. Those on the front lines also sounding an alarm. Underpaid, understaffed Nursing Homes has been a problem in our country for a long time. And this crisis has only made it worse. Reporter and for the families now mourning, questions only add to the pain. She was vibrant. She was a firecracker. My parents didnt have a lot growing up. Everything they had, they gave to us and gave to their grandchildren. Reporter it is so important, as we know, wolf, not to forget the faces, the victims in this tragedy. Were also hearing so much from governors, as i pointed out, throughout the day. We heard from Governor Cooper in North Carolina who echoed what were hearing from governor cuomo, saying, and im quoting here, that part of the issue is obviously with the supply. He says when governors are faced with a Global Supply chain breakdown for supplies and equipment, he says the federal government must step in and do more. Hearing that from a lot of governors right now. All right, erica hill in new york, thank you. Joining us now, the governor of rhode island, gina raimondo. Governor, thank you so much for joining us. As you know, the president has been busy tweeting all day today, among other things hes saying liberate michigan, liberate virginia, liberate minnesota, save your great second amendment, it is under siege. What do you think hes talking about . You know, im not sure what hes talking about, and im not sure what value he thinks that serves. Look, theres no question that people are tired of being cooped up. People are frustrated. And the stayathome orders that i and other governors have had to impose out of a Public Health necessity have absolutely caused Economic Hardship for many, many, many americans. And that is real. Having said that, there is no governor out there, myself included, who isnt thinking constantly, every day, all day, about how do we get people back to work as quickly as possible. Frankly we have to do it safely. And if we just if were reckless about it, and send everybody back at the flip of a switch, well be right back in the soup. And that is not safe, its not right, its not what i plan to do, and its not the right thing for the American People. So yes, we have to get back to work, but we have to be smart about it, doing it in a targeted way, and make sure we have enough testing and ppe and regulations in place to make it so that people are safe when they go back to work. What about in your state of rhode island, how does it look, when are people going to start going back to work . When are schools going to reopen . What is some of the social distancing going to go away . So, wolf, i have a stayathome order in place until may 8. And i hope very much that shortly thereafter, i might be in a position to start relaxing some of the, you know, most stringent requirements. But ill tell you this. It all depends on the data. So yesterday, the white house put out guidelines saying that a responsible time to begin reopening the economy is after 14 days of, you know, declining infections. And rhode island right now is still on the incline. More people today than yesterday than the day before. The same for our hospitalizations. So as i said before, my goal is to get as many people back to work as fast as possible, and were working towards that. And im not going to do anything that risks the life and health and safety of the million Rhode Islanders who i serve. You shouldnt, obviously, thats your number one priority. The Vice President , mike pence, had a phone call today with Democratic Senators. The independent senator angus king who caucuses with the democrats, hes from maine, he said this, im quoting him now, he said, i have never been so mad about a phone call in my life. He says, the failure to develop a National Testing plan, in his words, is a dereliction of duty. Can you share with us, can you get to the level of testing that you need in rhode island right now without federal help . So let me say two things. Rhode island is very fortunate. Cvs is headquartered in rhode island, theyve been an unbelievable partner with me. So between that Public Private partnership, were doing a tremendous amount of testing in rhode island. Two weeks ago the federal government supplied us with 1,500 abbott machines, every state got them. We still have not received the tests we need to operate those machines. And abbott is only going through the cdc, not dealing with the states. Thats a perfect example. The president himself said yes, we need ubiquitous, readily available testing to have a safe reopening of the economy. Hes right, i give him credit for that and i give him credit actually for letting the governors call the shots on the front lines. But the federal government needs to do more to provide us with the testing equipment that we need, frankly, for the next 12 months in order to safely navigate our way through this crisis. Governor murphy of new jersey, a man you obviously know, thinks students should have to actually wear masks when his schools in new jersey open up. Would you agree with that as far as rhode island is concerned . Obviously it depends when they open. Certainly if they were to reopen this school year, and i havent yet given up on that as a possibility, i would say yes. Its very possible that will still be necessary in the fall. The reality is, were going to go through waves, and our lives are going to have to change significantly until a vaccine is developed and is widely available. But i think everybody would agree, its better to let the kids go back to school with new precautions and let folks go back to work with new precautions than continuing obviously with the blunt instrument of the stayathome orders, which, you know, are clearly not sustainable, but they were necessary in light of the surge that we were seeing. In light of the president s very angry, very political tweets today, whats your message to him if hes watching right now . Just focus on the job at hand. You know, continue to communicate with governors. Collaborate with us. Shore up the testing system statewide so that states have what we need. We share the president s goal of wanting to reopen the economy, and absolutely, but the fact of the matter is, we need more support to make that happen safely, particularly as it relates to testing. So for everybody, everybody, wolf, is anxious and frustrated and scared. Its a time to stay calm, cool, collected, focus on the facts, and lead through this crisis, which we will get to the other side of. Good advice indeed. Governor raimondo, thank you so much for joining us, good luck to everybody in rhode island. We appreciate you spending a few moments with us, thank you. The next hour, ill be speaking with another governor, the governor of Washington State, jay inslee. Hell join us live, stick around for that as well. Still ahead, an influential new model suggests some states wont be able to start reopening until this summer at the earliest. Just ahead, ill speak with an expert who helped develop this new forecast. And later, the New York Times columnivi ivitist tom frs standing by live to discuss what the new normal here in the United States should look like. Well be right back. The situation room with wolf blitzer brought to you by Tractor Supply co. Hey, can i. Safe drivers save 40 guys guys safe drivers save 40 safe drivers save 40 safe drivers save 40 thats safe drivers save 40 . It is, thats safe drivers save 40 . Hes right there. Its him safe drivers do save 40 . Click or call for a quote today. A newlyreleased model of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States lowers the number of expected deaths but also suggests some states will have to wait until summer to begin reopening. Im joined by university of washington professor ali mukdad, thank you so much for joining us. Your model shows four states in the United States, vermont, west virginia, vermont, and hawaii, would open as soon as may 4th. First of all, explain what that is. Thank you. So the new model, were looking at the capacity thats available right now, in every state. And the level of infection, so we can suggest they can move into the containing stage, be able to do all the testing they need, all the isolation they need and all the social distancing, keep it in place, such as large numbers of gathering. What does the model show about hardesthit states, for example, new york and new jersey . So new york, for example, we show sometimes around june 1 they can start, and many states, connecticut, georgia, florida, are in the june date that they can relax these social measures. What a