Trump's message to 'liberate' states dangerous: Washington Gov. Jay Inslee

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee appeared Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

April 19, 2020, 1:53 PM

5 min read

5 min read

President Donald Trump's message to liberate states, as some Americans gather to protest stay-at-home orders, is basically encouraging illegal activity, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

"To have an American president to encourage people violate the law, I can't remember any time in my time in America we have seen such a thing. It's dangerous, because it could inspire people to ignore things that could save their lives," he told ABC Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos.

"And it's doubly frustrating to us governors," he added. "The president is asking people 'please ignore Dr. Fauci, Dr. Birx, please ignore my own guidelines I set forth.'"

Inslee said that he hopes that there can be "restoration of leadership in the White House."

FILE PHOTO: Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee talks at a press conference about the coronavirus outbreak, March 16, 2020, in Seattle.

In a Saturday briefing, in the midst of a debate -- including protests -- over timelines for reopening the country, President Donald Trump echoed a similar sentiment.

“Well, there is a lot of injustice. When you look at Virginia, where they want to take your guns away, they want to violate your Second Amendment. When you look at, I mean, look, I'm getting along very nicely with the governor of Michigan. She says don't buy paint, don’t buy roses, don’t buy -- she’s got all these crazy things,” Trump said. “I believe somebody sitting in their boat in a lake should be OK. They shouldn't arrest people. Some of them are being unreasonable. I really believe that. They’re being unreasonable.”

Trump published a number of tweets to “liberate” certain states, which Inslee said were "fomenting" rebellion.

"The president is fomenting domestic rebellion and spreading lies even while his own administration says the virus is real and is deadly, and that we have a long way to go before restrictions can be lifted,” he said.

President Donald Trump addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing at the White House in Washington, April 17, 2020.

Trump has said during his daily briefings that he doesn’t believe that protests against stay-at-home orders are putting people at risk of spreading or contracting COVID-19.

“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,” Inslee said in a Friday statement.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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