Trump appears to stoke protests against stringent lockdown measures

US President Donald Trump has appeared to support protesters in several states demonstrating against extended stay-at-home orders and other restrictions meant to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump on Thursday reportedly told Democratic governors of Minnesota, Michigan and Virginia that they would determine when to lift social distancing guidelines in their states.

But on Friday he posted highly incendiary tweets stoking protests against physical distancing and other stringent lockdown measures in the states.

"LIBERATE MINNESOTA!" Trump tweeted, followed quickly by a call to "LIBERATE MICHIGAN!"

"LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!" Trump tweeted, a reference to the state's expanded background checks and limits on gun purchases signed into law last week.

The United States has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, more than 672,200 confirmed infections and 33,000 deaths.

Later on Friday speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump defended protesters defying federal social distancing guidelines to express displeasure with lockdown measures.

Trump said that he feels some state orders are “too tough.”

He suggested demonstrations in Virginia were also justified because of recently signed gun laws that expand background checks and limit certain firearm purchases.

“I think we do have sobering guidance, but I think some things are too tough. It’s too tough,” Trump said. “Not only relative to this, but what they’ve done in Virginia with respect to the second amendment is a horrible thing.”

He said he doesn’t necessarily think the states should suspend their stay-at-home orders, only saying he broadly feels “elements of what they’ve done is too much.”

Trump has repeatedly ignored his partisan politics aside during the coronavirus pandemic.

Protesters have begun taking to the streets across the US to call on governors to rethink the restrictions as sweeping stay-at-home orders in 42 US states have shuttered businesses, disrupted lives and destroyed the economy.

As economic pain deepens, protesters pushing back on US stay-at-home orders

As sweeping stay-at-home orders in 42 US states to combat the coronavirus have decimated the economy, protesters have begun taking to the streets to urge governors to rethink the restrictions.

A large number of protesters, many with young children, gathered in Virginia's state capital of Richmond on Thursday in defiance of Democratic Governor Ralph Northam's mandate, according to Reuters.

Thousands of protesters in Michigan blocked traffic in the state capital of Lansing. And protesters in Kentucky stormed Democratic Governor Andy Beshear's news briefing on the pandemic, chanting "We want to work!"

In Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia and other states elements of the far right also joined the protests. Some protesters have carried guns, waved Trump campaign and Confederate flags.

Trump: China coronavirus toll 'far higher' than admitted

In another tweet on Friday, Trump accused China of hiding the actual death toll from the coronavirus pandemic, claiming the country’s real death toll from coronavirus was "far higher.”

"China has just announced a doubling in the number of their deaths from the Invisible Enemy. It is far higher than that and far higher than the U.S., not even close!" Trump tweeted.

Trump appeared to be referring to Wuhan's abrupt increase in the death toll by 50 percent, though not "doubling," as Trump claimed.

The city of Wuhan in central China on Friday revised its official death toll of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Wuhan officials upped the fatalities attributed to the pandemic by 1,290 to 3,869, raising the total death toll for all of China to 4,632 out of 86,629 confirmed cases across the country.

The Chinese officials explained that the increase in the city’s official death toll was because some hospitals had incorrectly reported, delayed reporting, or omitted cases after being overwhelmed by patients during the early stages of the outbreak.

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