Trump Calls Armed Michigan Protesters ‘Very Good People’ in Echo of Charlottesville

President Donald Trump has told Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to make a deal with the armed protesters who entered the statehouse on Thursday to oppose Coronavirus restrictions. In an echo of his remarks following a neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Trump praised the protesters.

“The Governor of Michigan should give a little, and put out the fire,” Trump tweeted.

The Governor of Michigan should give a little, and put out the fire. These are very good people, but they are angry. They want their lives back again, safely! See them, talk to them, make a deal.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 1, 2020

“These are very good people, but they are angry. They want their lives back again, safely! See them, talk to them, make a deal.”

Hundreds of protesters, some of them toting guns, entered the state house to demand the state be reopened amid Covid-19 restrictions. Some of the protesters tried to enter the floor of the statehouse chamber, where lawmakers were debating the measures.

Trump’s comments an an eerie echo of his remarks about neo-Nazi demonstrators at the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, North Carolina in 2017. Trump referred to the rally-goers and opponents as ‘very fine people on both sides – a remark that won widespread condemnation.