‘They listen to me – they like me’: Trump aligns himself with Operation Gridlock anti-shutdown protesters

Donald Trump has declined to condemn protesters in Michigan who violated their state’s stay-at-home order to stage a demonstration at which they toted guns and blocked the state capital’s streets to demand restrictions be lifted.

Asked by a reporter at his daily press briefing what he would say to those who violated Coronavirus lockdown orders, Mr Trump offered empathy – and focused on their appreciation for him.

“When you look at what they’ve been through, when you look at all of the death and all of the problems and all of the sickness, when you look at what’s happened, I just think the American people have been incredible.”

The reporter, ABC News’s Jonathan Karl, followed up to ask specifically about those who are refusing to comply with instructions from local authorities,

“I think they’re listening,” said Mr Trump. “I think they’re listening to me. They seem to be protesters that like me and respect this opinion, and my opinion is just the same as about all of the governors. They all wanna open – nobody wants to stay shut, but they wanna open safely.”

The protest Mr Karl was referring to was organised by a hard-right grassroots group, the Michigan Conservative Coalition. Their protest on 15 April, termed “Operation Gridlock”, saw them assemble outside the Michigan state capitol in their thousands, many displaying firearms and wearing “Make America Great Again” hats or waving Trump flags.

They claim Michigan's lockdown has gone too far and say they are “fed up” with Democratic governor Gretchen Whitmer’s “radical, progressive agenda”, which they say has allowed “dope stores” to stay open while small businesses remain closed.

The demonstrators also blocked streets near the capitol with cars and pickup trucks, obstructing ambulances.

Michigan is one of the hardest-hit states in the US, with nearly 30,000 cases and more than 2,000 deaths confirmed so far. Governor Whitmer has become something of a bete noire on the right since she imposed some of the country’s strongest social distancing orders, which members of the protest group have described as “tyranny”.

Michigan Conservative Coalition organiser Meshawn Maddock accused Ms Whitmer of self-promotion while small businesses struggled and other Michiganders lost their jobs and incomes.

She used an interview with Fox News to propagate a false story that Ms Whitmer has prohibited stores from selling American flags.

“Imagine this. She’s a governor who is keeping abortion clinics open, but she bans the sale of the American flag. To me, that pretty much sums her up.”

While Mr Trump said he agrees with “about all of the governors”, he has previously criticised Ms Whitmer for her ingratitude towards his administration.

Referring to her as “the woman in Michigan” – a sobriquet Ms Whitmer now wears on a t-shirt – he suggested that state governors might expect limited assistance until they thanked him.

He has also said that some governors may have received “too much credit” for their response to the crisis.