‘I’ve never seen so many American flags!’ Donald Trump defends protesters demanding lockdown is lifted as he says they just have ‘cabin fever’ and ‘love our country’
- President Trump gave a pass to protesters who have gathered in cities across the nation to push for American businesses to be reopened amid the pandemic
- ‘They’ve got cabin fever,’ Trump told reporters at the White House Sudnay. ‘They want their lives back’
- Earlier, Trump said he believed that some of the governors’ stay at home orders went too far, singling out Michigan and Virginia
- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
President Trump gave a pass to protesters who have gathered in cities across the nation to push for American businesses to be reopened amid the coronavirus pandemic.
‘They’ve got cabin fever,’ Trump said at his Sunday White House briefing. ‘They want their lives back.’
The president rejected the assertion that he was inciting violence, as one reporter pointed out that governors around the country were seeing an uptick in death threats.
President Trump rejected the assertion he was inciting violence by tweeting messages like ‘LIBERATE Michigan’
President Trump said those protesting the stay at home orders simply had ‘cabin fever’ and remarked that many of them were carrying American flags
Trump said those protesting, including people in Olympia, Washington on Sunday (pictured), ‘love our country’
‘They want to get back to work,’ Trump said of the Americans who have decided to ignore social distancing guidance and protest in gatherings across the country
Protesters want businesses to reopen, arguing that the coronavirus’ spread is less dangerous than the damage to the economy
‘No, I am not. I’ve never seen so many American flags,’ Trump said. ‘These people love our country. They want to get back to work.’
The reporter then pointed out that some protesters had waved Nazi flags.
The president said he was, clearly, against that from happening.
After protesters had gathered in the state capitals of Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia last week, Trump seemingly egged them on Friday when he tweeted ‘LIBERATE’ and then included those three states.
Since then, he’s defended that messaging by saying that some states have taken their stay at home orders too far.
He’s mocked Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for telling large retailers to rope off their home improvement sections. At Sunday’s briefing, however, Trump praised Whitmer’s overall response to the pandemic.
He also linked new gun control laws in Virginia, signed by Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, to the state’s effort to contain the virus, despite there not being a connection.
With more protests planned, Trump demurred from telling the demonstrators – many of whom have shown up in pro-Trump merchandise – to stay home.
‘And when the virus passes, I hope we’re going to be sitting next to each other at baseball games, football games, basketball games, ice hockey games,’ Trump said. ‘I hope we’re going to be sitting next to each other. The Masters is going to have 100,000 people, not 25 watching the course.’