President Trump is being blasted by the Washington Post, and presumably by every other mainstream media outlet, for tweeting in support of those who protest lockdowns in certain states. When protesters rallied against the orders of Gov. Walz in Minnesota and Gov. Whitmer in Michigan, Trump tweeted “Liberate Minnesota” and “Liberate Michigan.”
Liberal journalists expressed outrage that, having just agreed that governors should make the decisions about when and how to reopen the economies in their states, Trump proceeded to “undermine his own guidance” by calling for the “liberation” of Minnesota and Michigan from their governors’ lockdown orders. One writer suggested, idiotically, that Trump was illegally advocating the overthrow of state governments.
I don’t see any contradiction between Trump’s leaving decisions to states and criticizing specific state decisions. By leaving these decisions to governors, Trump did not forfeit his right to criticize particular decisions by particular governors.
Governors agree that it’s up to the president to determine how many tests, ventilators, etc. to obtain for the national stockpile, and how to distribute these items to the states. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t criticize the president if they disagree with his decisions in this regard.
Moreover, a call to “liberate Michigan” (for example) isn’t necessarily a call to end the lockdown in that state. Michigan’s governor, for example, has imposed lockdown regulations that don’t seem to make much sense. To the extent that her diktats go too far, calls for “liberation” are justified.
Personally, however, I don’t think Trump should be tweeting out slogans. If he has a beef with a particular state’s approach to preventing the spread of this virus, he should spell it out with specificity — preferably in a private discussion with the governor, at least for starters.
Thus, although the mainstream media’s outrage over Trump’s tweets is overblown, ridiculously so in some cases, there is a sound basis for criticizing them.
Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.