US President Donald Trump urged supporters to "LIBERATE" three states led by Democratic governors Friday, apparently encouraging protests against stay-at-home mandates aimed at stopping the coronavirus. At least two states under Republican leadership took their first steps toward easing restrictions, reports AP.
A day after laying out a road map to gradually reopen the crippled economy, Trump tweeted the kind of rhetoric some of his supporters have used to demand the lifting of the orders that have thrown millions of Americans out of work.
"LIBERATE MINNESOTA!" "LIBERATE MICHIGAN!" "LIBERATE VIRGINIA," he said in a tweet-storm in which he also lashed out at New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for criticizing the federal response. Cuomo "should spend more time 'doing' and less time 'complaining,'" the president said.
Responding to pleas from governors for help from Washington in ramping up testing for the virus, put the burden back on them: "The States have to step up their TESTING!" Trump claimed Friday that "very partisan voices" had spread "false and misleading information" about the nation's testing capacity. But he said "we'll help New York and all of the other states get even better on their testing."
At the same time, at least two states took their first steps toward easing the restrictions. In Florida, GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis said municipalities could reopen beaches and parks if they could do so safely. In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said stores could begin selling curbside, nonessential surgery could resume and state parks could reopen.
Sensitive about persistent questions about the capacity for testing, Trump had his health team lead an extensive briefing Friday outlining that adequate capacity exists to get states through the first phase of the White House guidelines for how they should reopen.
Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to see businesses reopen quickly and claimed earlier this week that he had total authority over the matter, even though the lockdowns and other social-distancing measures have been imposed by state and local leaders, not Washington.
