President Trump urges 3 states to 'liberate'
President Donald Trump seemingly sided with protesters in Minnesota, Michigan and Virginia who are defying social distancing orders to rally against the states' safety measures intended to stop the coronavirus spread.
In back-to-back tweets Friday morning, Trump wrote: "LIBERATE MINNESOTA" and then, "LIBERATE MICHIGAN" and then, "LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!"
Minutes before Trump's tweets, Fox News had a segment about a group calling itself "Liberate Minnesota," which is planning a protest outside of Gov. Tim Walz's residence Friday in opposition to his stay-at-home order. Fox also had on a Michigan sheriff to discuss people challenging Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's orders.
A rowdy protest outside the Michigan Capitol on Thursday clogged roads and crowded the downtown streets, resembling a Trump rally, with maskless people wearing MAGA hats and chanting "Lock her up," referring to Whitmer.
Trump has publicly sparred with Whitmer, who has been critical of the White House's response to the public health crisis.
Whitmer warned Thursday night that these public displays of disobedience threaten to extend the stay-at-home guidance by spreading the infection among large groups of people. On Friday morning, during an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America," Whitmer said she could handle people lashing out at her, but urged them not to make this pandemic "overly political."
"Let's focus on the public health. ... I know that there are a lot of businesses and people that are hurting right now. But the fact of the matter is it's better to be six feet apart right now than six feet under," she said.
Also Thursday, a smaller group protested in Virginia by holding a picnic on the Capitol grounds without social distancing or wearing masks. Trump's reference in his tweet to the Second Amendment is most likely a reference to a slate of gun safety bills Gov. Ralph Northam signed into law last week, which included expanding background checks to all firearm sales.
The states are all governed by Democrats and are considered battlegrounds in the presidential campaign. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won Minnesota while Trump took Michigan, each by narrow margins. Clinton more easily won Virginia.
Trump has been known to incite his supporters with his rhetoric. During his rallies in 2016, he offered to pay the legal bills of supporters who roughed up a protester and also made an oblique reference to using the Second Amendment against Clinton if she won.