Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, said President Trump’s encouragement of protests during the coronavirus pandemic is antithetical to the federal government’s social distancing guidelines.
Trump supported protesters in recent days by calling for the “liberation” of several states that the president said have gotten “carried away” with stay-at-home orders.
“I don’t think it’s helpful to encourage demonstrations and encourage people to go against the president’s own policy,” Hogan told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.
“The president’s policy says you can’t start to reopen under his plan until you have declining numbers for 14 days,” he continued, adding, “So then to encourage people to go protest the plan you just made recommendations on on Thursday, it just doesn’t make any sense. We’re sending completely conflicting messages out to the governors and to the people as if we should ignore federal policy and federal recommendations.”
Trump encouraged demonstrators in Minnesota, Michigan, and Virginia, who are defying social distancing orders to protest the states’ efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The states singled out by Trump are considered battlegrounds in the 2020 presidential election.
