And it’s led by the president:
There is plenty of evidence that this is being led by Astroturf groups, just as the tea party was. Salon’s Sophia Tesfaye reported:
So who is behind the sudden sprouting of right-wing resistance? Unlike with the Tea Party movement of the recent past, the mega-donors behind today’s right-wing rallies are making no effort to hide their involvement.
FreedomWorks, the instrumental force behind the Tea Party, “is holding weekly virtual town halls with members of Congress, igniting an activist base of thousands of supporters across the nation to back up the effort” led by right-wing commentator Stephen Moore. the Associated Press reported. Other right-wing groups vocally opposing shutdowns include Americans for Prosperity, an organization funded by the Koch brothers, and the conservative Heritage Foundation.
There is even a connection to the family of Trump’s Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. As Michigan’s governor noted, the DeVos family foundation helped fund Facebook ads for this week’s protest. While noting that the Education Secretary ended her political spending when she joined Trump’s Cabinet, a spokesperson for the family took a swipe at Whitmer. “They understand the frustration of fellow Michiganders, however, as elements of the governor’s top-down approach appear to go beyond public safety,” Nick Wasmiller told MLive, adding that “Michigan deserves competent governance.”
Trump’s acting director of national intelligence, Richard Grenell, posted an image to social media on Wednesday suggesting that stay-at-home orders were unconstitutional. That same day, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, “We’ve gotta reopen, and when we do the coronavirus is gonna spread faster.” Rep. Trey Hollingsworth told an Indianapolis radio station on Wednesday that it was time for lawmakers to put on their “big-boy and big-girl pants” and prioritize “the American way of life” over the lives of actual Americans. “It is not zero evil, but it is the lesser of these two evils,” Hollingsworth said, “and we intend to move forward that direction.”
And, of course, there’s Trump TV:
I hope everyone is ready for this if Trump loses. The country will be overrun by angry right-wingers letting their freak flags fly just as they did after Obama won. There’s big money backing it and their media is completely insane. And Trump will be leading the charge.