Over 35,000 Americans have died from the Coronavirus pandemic, but President Donald Trump’s priorities remain with lashing out against his political opponents. He took that lashing out to dangerous new extremes this weekend with a series of all-caps tweets in which he insisted that a slew of states across the country should be “liberated” from their supposedly oppressive governors, who have simply instituted stay-at-home orders in an attempt to stem the spread of the Coronavirus. Protesters who swarmed some states this week, whose contentions Trump apparently supports, launched the absolutely ludicrous assertion that these basic public health measures are some kind of nefarious plot against patriots’ rights — or something.
Opponents of Michigan's social distancing measures blocked a hospital entrance in protest.
"The cars were blocking one of our hospitals, so an ambulance literally wasn't able to get into the bay for ten minutes," said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. https://t.co/CkdVU5lXi3
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 16, 2020
In rapid succession, Trump tweeted in all caps:
‘LIBERATE MINNESOTA!’
And:
‘LIBERATE MICHIGAN!’
And finally:
‘LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!’
“Liberation” is the language of war — as in armed conflict. In fact, some of the protesters who turned out against the stay-at-home orders in their respective states this week were armed to the teeth. Trump’s tweets suggest that he supports their use of force to supposedly protect their supposedly infringed rights. It’s like a step away from openly and explicitly calling for armed “patriots” to storm Democrat-led legislative chambers — and really, for the audience that the president has in mind, it’s not even a step away. This whole gross display is because there is apparently no extreme that those on Trump’s side won’t descend to in an attempt to protect their supposedly infringed business rights, even if that means people die from a preventable virus in the process.
Early this Friday, Trump also quoted a Fox guest who’d been complaining about the World Health Organization’s response to the Coronavirus. Trump — the guy who once said he’s “never understood wind” — pretending that he’s in any kind of position to speak with scientific authority about Coronavirus issues is laughable.
….in January and February, as the Virus spread globally? Why did the W.H.O. wait as long as it did to take decisive action? Lanhee Chen, Hoover Institution Fellow @FoxNews
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2020
He also alleged that the recent depletion of a small business loan fund meant to keep people on the payroll means that people are now losing their jobs and it’s all the Democrats fault. The idea that Democrats are on “vacation” is ludicrous. Congress is largely declining to meet amidst social distancing guidelines.
Today people started losing their jobs because of Crazy Nancy Pelosi, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, and the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, who should immediately come back to Washington and approve legislation to help families in America. End your ENDLESS VACATION!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2020
Check out Twitter’s response below…
