Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) on Friday accused President Donald Trump of encouraging “illegal and dangerous acts” that could lead to “violence” by calling on states to be liberated from stay-at-home orders implemented due to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.
“The president’s statements this morning encourage illegal and dangerous acts. He is putting millions of people in danger of contracting COVID-19. His unhinged rantings and calls for people to “liberate” states could also lead to violence. We’ve seen it before,” Inslee said in a statement.
“The president’s call to action today threatens to undermine his own goal of recovery by further delaying the ability of states to amend current interventions in a safe, evidence-based way,” the governor continued. “His words are likely to cause COVID-19 infections to spike in places where social distancing is working — and if infections are increasing in those places, that will further postpone the 14 days of decline that his own guidance says is necessary before modifying any interventions. ”
“I hope political leaders of all sorts will speak out firmly against the president’s calls for rebellion. Americans need to work together to protect each other. It’s the only way to slow the spread of this deadly virus and get us on the road to recovery,” he concluded.
As of Friday, Washington state has 11,152 confirmed coronavirus cases and 583 deaths.
Earlier Friday, President Donald Trump demanded Democrat governors to begin loosening up restrictions put in place to combat the coronavirus.
“Liberate Minnesota, Liberate Michigan, Liberate Virginia,” the president wrote on social media.
Soon after, President Trump slammed New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) for criticizing the federal government response to the crisis.
“Governor Cuomo should spend more time ‘doing’ and less time ‘complaining,’” he wrote. “Get out there and get the job done. Stop talking!”
President Trump’s call comes as protests have broken out in several states against the stay-home-orders, with demonstrators demanding to be able to return to work. As Breitbart News reported, a group of Minnesotans protested outside Gov. Tim Walz’s residence on Friday to demand the lifting of the state’s lockdown.
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