Donald Trump, who last week backed protests against statewide lockdowns, clashed with the Republican governor of Georgia on Wednesday, saying he "disagreed strongly" with the decision by Brian Kemp to reopen salons, gyms and other nonessential businesses later this week.

At Wednesday's press briefing, the president also called on the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to walk back his warning that a second wave of the coronavirus could be "even more difficult."

Trump disagrees with Kemp

Kemp, the Georgia governor, announced this week that various non-essential businesses would reopen in the state over the coming days, prompting warnings from Democrats that the state had not yet met the federal recommendations for reopening the economy.

Trump has been stressing the importance of reopening states sooner than later to get the U.S. economy back on track and his administration recently announced a three-phase plan for making that happen.

But at the White House's daily press briefing on Wednesday, he said he told Kemp that he had misgivings over the governor's plan to reopen quickly. He also said that he would not stand in his way. "I want him to do what he thinks is right," Trump said. "But I disagree with him on what he's doing ... It's just too soon."

Trump's top adviser on the pandemic, Anthony Fauci, urged Kemp to proceed with caution. "If I were advising the governor, I would tell him, be careful, I would tell him not to just turn the switch on and go," Fauci said, adding that Georgia could see a rebound of the virus, further damaging the state's economy.

Kemp responded in a tweet on Wednesday night that he appreciated Trump's guidance but would move forward with his plan.

"Our next measured step is driven by data and guided by state public health officials. We will continue with this approach to protect the lives - and livelihoods - of all Georgians," he tweeted.

Redfield on second wave

Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, clarified his warning that a second wave of coronavirus could be worse than the current situation.

"There's a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through," Redfield said in an interview on Tuesday with the Washington Post. 

"And when I've said this to others, they kind of put their head back, they don't understand what I mean. We're going to have the flu epidemic and the coronavirus epidemic at the same time."

On Wednesday, Trump tweeted that the health expert was misquoted and would be putting out a statement. Redfield, speaking at the daily briefing, said he was quoted accurately.

"I think it's really important to emphasize what I didn't say: I didn't say that this was going to be worse," Redfield said. "I said it was going to be more difficult and potentially complicated because we're going to have flu and coronavirus circulating at the same time."

Trump downplayed the chances that the coming fall or winter could bring another serious wave of COVID-19 cases combined with outbreaks of seasonal flu.

"We will not go through what we went through in the last few months," Trump said. "It may not come back at all." Instead, the president said there could be "embers of corona" that could combine with flu to create "a mess."

Fauci, however, said the country needs to be prepared for a second wave. "We will have coronavirus in the fall. I am convinced of that.”

(With input from agencies)