White House counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway is clarifying President Donald Trump’s stance on protesters practicing social distancing while she is also taking a swing at governors.
During an interview on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” on Monday, Conway was asked how the president feels about the protests disregarding many of the social distancing guidelines.
Fox News’ Sandra Smith also noted that many of the photos capture protesters across the country failing to practice social distancing which could be potentially counter-productive.
Conway conceded that protesters’ actions were not in accordance with the social distancing guidelines, and the president and the administration believe distance is needed to prevent the spread of the virus. She then went on to blame governors for the problem.
“Some of these governors have physically distanced from common sense,” Conway said before taking aim at Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.), adding, “In Michigan, you can basically smoke your grass but not cut your grass. This makes no sense to many people.”
See Conway’s remarks below:
LISTEN: @KellyannePolls comments on expectations of reopening the economy amid nationwide protests of state-issued stay-at-home orders #nine2noon pic.twitter.com/TNJx3qJekJ
— America's Newsroom (@AmericaNewsroom) April 20, 2020
Conway went on to defend protesters in what she describes as “low-infection areas” despite many of the protests taking place in states with coronavirus hotspots.
“I look at those people and I see the forgotten men and forgotten women, economically,” Conway said. “They’re saying, ‘Look, I’m in a low-infection area, I’m asymptomatic, not exposed, I want to get back to work.’”
Conway’s statements follow several protests across the United States over the last several days.
Despite Conway’s arguments, Dr. Anthony Fauci said that protests, which are considered mass gatherings, could lead to a setback, as previously reported on IJR.
While the infectious disease expert did admit the shutdown is hurting Americans from an economic standpoint, protests could ultimately prolong the reopening of the economy.
“Clearly this is something that is hurting from the standpoint of economics,” he said, adding, “And the standpoint of things that have nothing to do with the virus, but unless we get the virus under control, the real recovery economically is not going to happen.”
