WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump had a message to offer those who crowded pools and boardwalks over the Memorial Day weekend, defying coronavirus social distancing guidelines: “Always be safe.”

Trump did not criticize the images that flooded cable television airwaves during a Rose Garden event, saying only: “We’re opening up, but you want to be safe.”

Cases are still rising in some states.

Trump also maintained Tuesday, without explanation, that he “can absolutely” force governors to allow churches and other houses of worship across the country to reopen, saying he “will override any governor that wants to play games.”

But he also said that pastors, rabbis and imams “don’t want anyone getting hurt or sick.” And he conceded that “there may be some areas” where religious leaders may “feel that it’s not quite ready.”

He said that’s something he’s OK with, as long as it’s “the choice of the congregation and the pastor.”