President Donald Trump told supporters in North Carolina on Tuesday that governors in states including North Carolina, Michigan and New York are continuing to impose CCP virus lockdown orders for political reasons.
“It’s a shame what’s going on,” Trump said. “On November 4th, every one of those states will be open. They’re doing it for political reasons.”
“They think by hurting the economy, by keeping all these store owners and all these people that work in shops, stores and buildings, offices—they think by keeping them and hurting them you’re hurting the economy,” the president added before pivoting to a discussion of recent economic improvements.
The economic boom since Trump’s election figures as one of the keys to his reelection on Nov. 3, but the economic shutdowns linked to the pandemic dealt a giant blow to the economy. After a historic plunge, the U.S. economy has seen rapid recovery.
The president made a similar suggestion about the lockdowns in July.
“The country has to open,” Trump told Fox News in an interview aired on July 22. “We did the right thing. We closed it down. We saved millions of lives. Now we’re opening it up. And I think the Democrats are actually doing it largely for political reasons.”
The president took specific aim at the Democrat governors in North Carolina, Michigan and New York, without calling them by name.
“But you just take a look at what’s going on in North Carolina, they want to open. They want to open. They want to open in Michigan so badly. They want to open. They want to have football. They want to have their schools open,” the president said.
“We had the greatest economy. We closed it up. And now we’re opening it up and your state should go with it. We’re opening it up,” the president said.
The offices of North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D), New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and Michgan Gov.Gretchen Whitmer (D) did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
North Carolina began phased reopening on May 8 and briefly paused it in June. Bars and movie theaters are still prohibited from operating in the state.
New York began phased reopening on May 15. With the exception of restaurants in New York City, malls in certain areas, movie theaters, casinos, and amusement parks, businesses are allowed to operate.
Michigan began to reverse its reopening in late July amid a rise in cases. Indoor bars and gyms are still prohibited from operating across the state.
