As tensions mount over lockdowns, Trump courts both sides
Demonstrators upset with social distancing restrictions protest outside New York's state Capitol, Wednesday, April 22, 2020 in Albany. Most of the protesters said that they want to go back to work.
Lori Van Buren/The Albany Times Union/AP
WASHINGTON
In a past life 鈥� that is, before COVID-19 鈥� President Donald Trump was banking on a strong economy to usher him into a second term.听
That calculation has largely evaporated, but not entirely. With six months until Election Day, President Trump is now asking voters to make a multi-step mental leap: Remember the once-robust economy, and then see him as having done all he can to save the nation from economic meltdown, while also trying to protect public health in a pandemic that has so far claimed 55,000 American lives.
The bifurcated approach has produced seemingly contradictory messages: On the one hand, Mr. Trump has been urging governors to follow science-based for a phased 鈥渙pening of America.鈥� At the same time, he鈥檚 been egging on protesters at state capitols who are rebelling against those very same guidelines that are keeping most Americans sheltering-in-place.听
Why We Wrote This
President Trump is trying to signal support for his base, many of whom have grown frustrated with government-imposed restrictions, while not alienating the swing voters he鈥檒l need in November. It鈥檚 led to divergent messages.
Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service,听all our coronavirus coverage听is free. No paywall.
It is a risky gambit 鈥� an apparent political effort to 鈥渉ave his cake and eat it too,鈥� as he whips up his core supporters with calls to 鈥渓iberate鈥� their states, while trying not to alienate the more mainstream voters he will need in November. The latest poll numbers in show Mr. Trump losing to former Vice President Joe Biden.听
In a fundamental way, Mr. Trump is also tapping into the nation鈥檚 deep roots in individualism and personal responsibility,听as well as the right's growing distrust of experts and elites.
鈥淗e鈥檚 been very good at building a base, which is very loyal to him, and continuing to remind the base he鈥檚 on their side,鈥澨齭ays historian Michael Kazin, an expert on populism at Georgetown University. 鈥淎s听the economy gets worse, more and more people will say that while the virus might be dangerous, it鈥檚 also dangerous to have businesses close up for good.鈥�
The political challenges are several fold. Social distancing means no campaign rallies for the foreseeable future. Online campaign events 鈥� attracting audiences in the hundreds, not thousands 鈥� aren鈥檛 the same. That forces him to rely all the more on Twitter and friendly news outlets to reach his supporters.听
Even Mr. Trump鈥檚 daily coronavirus briefings, which have attracted high viewership and given him a platform to spar with media, have gone south. Since his controversial appearance last Thursday, when he sparked an uproar by seeming to of ingesting disinfectants to treat COVID-19, he has dialed way back. On Friday he took no questions, and over the weekend did not hold any briefings at all. Monday鈥檚 scheduled briefing was initially canceled, then reinstated.听
The anti-lockdown rallies themselves also represent a mixed bag for Mr. Trump. On one level, they reflect the spirit of rebellion that gave rise to his presidency, and before that the tea party movement. But they also attract fringe elements. Some have featured Confederate battle flags and signs with .听
Some protesters bring firearms, though they have been urged not to. In Virginia, pre-coronavirus protests centered on gun rights have morphed into anti-quarantine protests. At a 鈥渄rive-by鈥� rally at the state capitol in Richmond last week, the messages contained heartfelt pleas by people eager to return to work and worried their rights are being trampled.听
鈥淚 am not a COVID-19 denier,鈥� says Steve Walker, a self-employed mechanic from Chesterfield, Virginia, speaking by phone after the rally. 鈥淏ut I believe that the government鈥檚 response to this is overreaching.鈥澨�
He worries that if the closures aren鈥檛 dialed back soon, the food supply could be at risk. But when asked about the Gadsden 鈥淒on鈥檛 Tread on Me鈥� flag his son waved out the window of their green Dodge Durango during the protest, Mr. Walker reveals a deeper sense of grievance.听
The flag, common at lockdown protests and a tea party symbol, 鈥渋s a warning to the government: We don鈥檛 work for you, you work for us,鈥� Mr. Walker says. 鈥淎nd if you continue on a course toward tyranny, there will be repercussions. You have a good chance of seeing armed revolt in this state.鈥澨�
Much has been made of the some anti-quarantine protests have received from national groups and people with White House connections, such as Stephen Moore, who serves on the administration鈥檚 advisory board for reopening the economy.听
But, supporters note, no one is paying protesters or forcing them to show up. The anti-quarantine efforts are a natural outgrowth of the libertarian 鈥渓ess government, more freedom鈥� ethos of groups like FreedomWorks, which has 5 million Facebook followers.听
鈥淎 lot of the people who were involved in the tea party movement have remained active in FreedomWorks,鈥� says Adam Brandon, the group鈥檚 president. 鈥淲e鈥檙e in touch.鈥澨�
In the last three years, he says, the group has trained 25,000 activists by sponsoring 鈥渇ly-ins鈥� to Washington and holding regional events.
Still, Mr. Trump鈥檚 all-caps tweets on April 17 calling to 鈥淟IBERATE鈥� Michigan, Minnesota, and Virginia were startling. The day before, the president had released a three-phase plan to 鈥渞eopen America,鈥� guidance aimed at helping states shift responsibly toward opening their economies without inviting a surge of new COVID-19 cases.
In fact, 8 in 10 Americans support the shelter-in-place orders in effect in most states, according to the , and many governors have seen a spike in their job approval ratings amid the pandemic.听
Some governors worried the president was calling for an armed insurrection. When Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz saw the tweet, he reached out to Mr. Trump. The two eventually had a 鈥渧ery nice call,鈥� according to a Trump 听
鈥淭he tweeting Trump isn鈥檛 necessarily the phoning Trump,鈥� says Steven Schier, an emeritus political science professor at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.听
But 鈥渢here鈥檚 a real risk here,鈥� Professor Schier says. 鈥淧ublic opinion is clearly not with these protests to open up now. So he has to worry that he鈥檚 associating himself with an unpopular movement that could produce some bad results.鈥澨�
The three states that Mr. Trump tweeted 鈥渓iberate鈥� messages at have Democratic governors. Mr. Trump is hoping to win Minnesota in November, after barely losing there in 2016. Virginia voted Democratic by more than 5 percentage points. But Michigan is a true battleground, voting for Mr. Trump in 2016 by just a fraction of a percent 鈥� and he is fighting hard to keep it in 2020.听
It鈥檚 worth noting that the United States appears to be the only country with any significant anti-quarantine protests. Part of it is a reflection of American political culture, in which freedom of speech and freedom of assembly are enshrined in the Constitution.
鈥淭here is a lot of social media frustration over the lockdown in several European countries, including the Netherlands and U.K., but I have not seen many open demonstrations,鈥� writes Cas Mudde, a professor in the school of public and international affairs at the University of Georgia, in an email. 鈥淥f course, what makes the U.S. so remarkable, is that the president is by and large opposing his own policies.鈥�
Professor Mudde also notes that Mr. Trump is raising expectations about a return to normalcy with his public support for the protests, but could soon be confronted with a second outbreak in states that soften their lockdowns 鈥� including Georgia, where he lives. If that prompts a renewed tightening of lockdown measures, he adds, it could turn the protesters against the president.
One protester, Tom Zawistowski of Akron, Ohio, is a longtime tea party activist, and has opposed the restrictive actions of his state鈥檚 Republican governor, Mike DeWine. The governor has won praise for shutting down Ohio early, but to activists like Mr. Zawistowski, it鈥檚 an abuse of power.听
He points to a high infection rate in some Ohio prisons but few deaths, and believes both Governor DeWine and Mr. Trump are overreacting to the virus 鈥� and doing deep harm to the economy in the process.听
鈥淚鈥檓 going to keep asking questions,鈥� Mr. Zawistowski said Friday, as he prepared for a protest in Columbus, Ohio, the next day. He indicated he would not wear a mask.听
Mr. Brandon of FreedomWorks rejects the 鈥渘o mask鈥� approach to the protests.听
鈥淚 know the press is gravitating toward people not wearing masks,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 not the majority of people [at the protests]. That鈥檚 totally out of our control. We鈥檙e advocating that anyone who shows up, first and foremost, needs to keep themselves safe in the world of COVID.鈥澨�
Staff writer Story Hinckley contributed to this report from Richmond, Virginia.
Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service,听all our coronavirus coverage听is free. No paywall.