White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said she sympathizes with those protesting Democratic governors in states where citizens have ignored stay-at-home orders to speak out against measures taken by local leaders to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
“What is the president saying about that this morning — the fact that these protests are calling for the end of some of the guidelines that he set to begin with?” Fox News host Sandra Smith asked Conway on Monday’s edition of America’s Newsroom.
“Well, first and foremost, we want people to adhere to the CDC guidelines, and we’ve updated those, Sandra, about less than two weeks ago for the 16 critical infrastructure industries,” Conway responded. “People should read those guidelines. We need physical distancing of 6 feet — wear that face covering.”
“You’ve clearly seen the pictures. [Protesters] are breaching those — breaching that social distancing line,” Smith pressed Conway.
“Correct. But at the same time, some of these governors have physically distanced from common sense,” Conway said. “In Michigan, you could basically smoke your grass but not cut your grass.”
Last week, thousands of people gathered at the Michigan state capitol building to protest Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order banning travel between residences and limiting the sale of certain “nonessential” goods such as seeds and gardening supplies through the end of April.
Whitmer has said the protesters’ failure to adhere to social distancing guidelines during their demonstration could mean she will have to extend executive orders further in an attempt to slow the spread.
Similar protests have taken place in Ohio, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania.
President Trump last week encouraged the demonstrations, calling for citizens there to “liberate” themselves from Democratic governors.
Trump has said he is eager to relax federal social distancing guidelines and allow people to go back to work but wants to do so safely. Current federal guidelines are set to expire on April 30.
“We think that some of the governors will be in really good shape to open up even sooner,” Trump said. “Others are going to have to take a longer period of time.”
Conway said Trump’s view resonates with people who are worried about another month’s bills coming due.
“And so, for them, this is not fomenting domestic rebellion,” Conway said. “I look at those people, and I see the forgotten men and forgotten women — economically. They’re saying, ‘Look, I’m in a low-infection area. I’m asymptomatic, not exposed. I want to get back to work.'”
