Washington governor: Trump is 'fomenting domestic rebellion and spreading lies'

Washington governor: Trump is 'fomenting domestic rebellion and spreading lies'

Jay Inslee, the Democratic governor of Washington state, accused Trump of “fomenting domestic rebellion and spreading lies” with his tweets about liberating states currently under stay-at-home orders.

Governor Jay Inslee

✔@GovInslee

 · 1h

The president’s statements this morning encourage illegal and dangerous acts. He is putting millions of people in danger of contracting COVID-19.

His unhinged rantings and calls for people to “liberate” states could also lead to violence. We’ve seen it before. 1/7

Governor Jay Inslee

✔@GovInslee

The president is fomenting domestic rebellion and spreading lies - even while his own administration says the virus is real, it is deadly and we have a long way to go before restrictions can be lifted. 2/7

2,816

2:46 PM - Apr 17, 2020

Twitter Ads info and privacy

643 people are talking about this

“Yesterday, the president told the nation science would guide his plan for easing restrictions. The White House released a sensible plan to resume economic activity,” Inslee wrote in a tweet. “24 hrs later he is off the rails, ignoring his own plan and spewing dangerous, anti-democratic rhetoric.”

At yesterday’s news conference, Trump said governors should be “empowered” to make their own decisions about how and when to reopen their states.

But the president’s tweets today echoed messaging from right-wing protesters, some of whom have ignored social distancing guidelines to demonstrate against the stay-at-home orders in Michigan and Minnesota.

Washington state was one of the first states to report an outbreak of coronavirus, and 590 residents have already died from the virus.