Making a hullabaloo out of nationwide “open the country” protests, the media turned on 73-year-old President Donald Trump, suggesting he’s telling protesters to break the law. Trump rolled out an “open the country” plan April 16, presenting in great detail the White House plan to open up parts of the country. Trump was slammed by the press for saying he, as president, had ultimate authority over the states, when all he was saying was the U.S. operated under a federal disaster declaration, requiring states to fall in line. But the media saw fit to make it out like Trump was playing king, usurping the authority of individual states. Trump clarified his remarks April 17, telling the press that the federal guidelines were meant only to give some structure to states seeking to reopen businesses shuttered with “shelter in place” orders. Trump showed empathy with citizens around the country with what he called “cabin fever.”
Trump knows that the protests were more than about getting out of the house but a plea for government to allow ordinary citizens to return to work. No one currently employed as elected officials or the press empathizes with rank-and-file folks unable to work and put bread on the table. Trump speaks the language of working people, understands what it’s like to no longer earn a living, even though he’s a billionaire real estate tycoon. It’s ironic that someone of his ilk conveys more empathy to working people than elected officials or the media. Yet the anti-Trump press reports the president’s tweets to liberate certain Democrat-controlled state as acts of civil disobedience. “Hazardous Liberty!” Defend the Constitution!” said protesters in Olympia, Washington, telling Gov. Jay Inslee to open up the state. Inslee presides over the first state to record the cornavirus outbreak.
Inslee accused Trump of encouraging lawbreaking, when he was only empathizing with protesters where “stay at home” orders prevent them from working. Demonstrators in Denver, Colorado raised placards that read, “All jobs are essential” and “Dangerous freedom over gov’t tyranny,” raising is issue of “right to work,” sometimes interpreted in the Declaration of Independence as the “Pursuit of Happiness.” Saying protesters have “cabin fever” trivializes the idea that today’s lockdown, no matter how essential to control the virus, robs people from earning a living. Whatever damage unemployment does to individuals, it wreaks equal havoc on local, county and state treasuries. Without taxpayers, it doesn’t take long for local, state and federal governments to run out of cash. Recent polls show there are differences between Democrats and Republicans on reopening the country.
Democrats and Republicans share in common the necessity of working, something that isn’t a partisan issue. Yet Democrats by a 20% margin oppose Trump’s attempt to reopen the country with the coronavirus still looming. Democrat Party officials have tried to politicize the SARS CoV-2 epidemic, hoping there’s enough damage to the economy to drive Trump out of office. Democrats have a lot to lose delaying reopening the country, especially if the economy lapses into another Great Recession or worse yet a Depression. Either a recession or depression would rob ordinary citizens from working, with rising unemployment and bankruptcies. Today announcement that Dallas-bases Neiman Marcus to file for bankruptcy should drive the point home about prolonging “shelter in place” orders, something that can’t go on much longer without catastrophic damage to the economy.
Washington Gov. Inslee, a former Democrat candidate, slammed Trump for encouraging protests to “reopen the country.” “To have an American president encourage people to violate the law, I can’t remember any time in my time in America we have seen such a thing,” Inslee told ABC News host George Stephanopoulos. Steaphanopoulous was former President Bill Clinton’s Press Secretary, when he was lying to the world about his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Pretending Stephanopoulos is a journalist rather than a Democrat hack does a disservice to the journalism community, where there are still some standards. “It’s dangerous, because it could inspire people to ignore thing that could save their lives,” Inslee said, forgetting the “shelter in place” order has driven everyday workers into insolvency, now facing evictions, homelessness and more poverty and disease.
Islee and other Democratic governors like Michigan Gov. Gretchen Witmer look to use the cornavirus as a way to attack Trump in the election year. When Inslee talks of Trump encouraging lawbreaking, it’s far more dangerous for governors to keep “shelter in place” orders, driving more U.S. citizens, and yes, cities, counties and states into insolvency. No one’s been stricter enforcing “stay at home” orders than Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. He ignored the economic consequences to forcing workers into unemployment. Today Garcetti announced that he’s furloughing thousands of city workers, all in the name of protecting them from the coronavirus. Instead of following federal guidelines to reopen the country, partisans like Garcetti care only about scoring political points against the president. Trump reminded governors and mayors that the right to work takes precedence over “shelter in place” orders.
