Whaa?

I'll give Owen Jensen, the White House correspondent for Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), the benefit of the doubt on the question he asked President Trump last week. Jensen noted that even though "non-essential" businesses were shuttered in an attempt to keep people from gathering and potentially infecting each other with the COVID-19 virus, grocery stores, fast-food restaurants and pharmacies were all still open and people still gathered in them. "...why even take a little chance? Just shut it all down temporarily." Jensen said.

The president didn't answer, which may mean he likes Jensen and didn't want to tear a strip off him about his dunderheaded question. But lots of people noticed, and they have held Jensen up to serious mockery -- partially if not totally deserved.

Now, Jensen's outlet EWTN is connected with the Roman Catholic Church. Several commenters and religious opinion writers have questioned why certain businesses were labeled essential and allowed to remain open while religious services have been prohibited if they include gatherings of more than 10 people. It's possible that Jensen wanted to set up a question about that matter but got cut off before he could.

Even that rather charitable reading of his intent, however, doesn't explain why Jensen doesn't know that the federal government doesn't have health and safety shutdown power -- governors and mayors do. It's one reason why calls for nationwide closures and shelter in place orders go unfulfilled: the president doesn't have those powers.

And, dumb question about grocery store closure aside, that's something a White House correspondent should know.