Thank God
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Trump demands states ‘LIBERATE’ after he issues new coronavirus guidelines and protests pop up
President Donald Trump on Friday urged Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia to “LIBERATE,” compounding the pressure on state leaders to start loosening their strict social distancing measures amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The president’s exhortations on Twitter came a day after the White House issued new federal guidelines on “reopening” the economy, providing states and regions with a broad pathway toward easing their restrictions on businesses and individual residents.
The tweets — which marked Trump’s most aggressive calls yet for state economies to reopen — also echoed an increasing number of protests around the country, led mainly by his supporters, demanding governors change their social distancing rules. The three states Trump targeted have Democratic governors.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">LIBERATE MICHIGAN!</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1251169217531056130?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1251169987110330372?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">LIBERATE MINNESOTA!</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1251168994066944003?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“I think elements of what they’ve done are too much,” Trump said of those states when asked about his tweets at a White House press briefing Friday night.
Trump also said he was not concerned that the large gatherings of protesters could spread the disease to others.
“No, these are people expressing their views. I see who they are and I see the way they are working,” Trump said. “They seem to be very responsible people to me. They’ve been treated, a little bit rough.”
Some health experts disagreed. “Gathering unprotected can only result in increased numbers of [Covid-19] infections and stressing the health-care system even more,” said Karen Hoffmann, the immediate past president of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, in an interview with CNBC.
A group calling itself “Liberate Minnesota” staged a protest Friday afternoon outside the residence of the state’s governor, Tim Walz.
Live-streamed video of the protest showed throngs of people packed closely outside the residence, many waving pro-Trump signs and flags. Few participants appeared to be wearing masks or other protective gear.
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Then CNBC goes off calling this stupid, of course.