Last week President Trump told governors to “call the shots” on reopening their states’ economies, then called on mobs of his followers to “liberate” states with Democratic governors, specifically the battleground states of Michigan, Minnesota, and Virginia. His rabid supporters turned out at state capitals, and some of them were armed.
A photo of the Ohio protesters banging on the statehouse windows looked familiar:
“One wears a Guy Fawkes mask. Two men wear Trump-branded baseball caps. Two women, the closest to the windows, shape their mouths into the same elongated howl as Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream.’ American flags obscure some of the protesters in the back.”
“It looked awfully familiar to Michael Satrazemis, the director of photography for ‘The Walking Dead’ and director of ‘Fear the Walking Dead,’ two shows that seem a little scarier these days, since they’re about a zombie apocalypse that begins with an uncontrollable pathogen.
The visual trope is ‘classic horror,’ says Satrazemis. It plays on the common fear of claustrophobia, making the audience “\’feel the walls are closing in and the world is shrinking around you. And there’s no way out.’”
— “That Ohio protest photo looked like a zombie movie. Zombie movie directors think so, too.”Maura Judkis, Washington Post
Mr. Trump must be nostalgic for his MAGA zombie rallies, and uneasy about the likelihood that he won’t be having any rallies before November’s election.
More:
“‘LIBERATE MICHIGAN!’ Trump tweets to armed protesters. What was he thinking?” Scott Martelle, Los Angeles Times
“Trump appears to back those protesting social distancing measures,” Brett Samuels, The Hill
“Trump breaks with his own guidelines to back conservative anti-quarantine protesters,” Quint Forgey, Politico
“Trump Refuses to Condemn Coronavirus Lockdown Protesters: They ‘Like Me,’” Hunter Woodall, The Daily Beast
“Chanting ‘lock her up,’ Michigan protesters waving Trump flags mass against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s coronavirus restrictions,” Chanting ‘lock her up,’ Michigan protesters waving Trump flags mass against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s coronavirus restrictions,” Washington Post
“The rightwing groups behind wave of protests against Covid-19 restrictions,” Jason Wilson, The Guardian
“Trump’s Plan to Contain the Coronavirus by Unleashing Anarchy Seems Risky,” Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine
“Trump calls protesters against stay-at-home orders ‘very responsible,'” David Smith, The Guardian
“Trump’s dangerous “LIBERATE” tweets represent the views of a small minority,” Aaron Rupar, Vox
“Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee Accuses Trump of ‘Fomenting Domestic Rebellion,’” Barbie Latza Nadeau, The Daily Beast
“Thousands of Americans backed by rightwing donors gear up for protests,” Adam Gabbatt, The Guardian
“Protesters Demand End to Lockdowns Across U.S.: ‘Fire Fauci!’” Daniel Politi, Slate
“Trump foments resistance to Democratic-imposed shutdowns, but some Republican governors are also wary of moving too fast,” Isaac Stanley-Becker, Toluse Olorunnipa, and Seung Min Kim, Washington Post
Updates:
“Protesters Cause Gridlock On Streets Around Maryland Governor’s Mansion,” Dominique Maria Bonessi, DCist
“Texas Protest Reflects Spreading Frustration With Coronavirus Closings,” Manny Fernandez and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, New York Times
“More U.S. protests call for lifting coronavirus restrictions as governors push back,” Doina Chiacu and Barbara Goldberg, Reuters
“An anti-lockdown protest in Austin, Texas, drew anti-vaxxers and Trump supporters chanting ‘Fire Fauci,'” Eliza Relman, Business Insider
“Trump ally compares coronavirus protesters to Rosa Parks,” Marty Johnson, The Hill
“The anti-quarantine protesters aren’t Rosa Parks. They’re more like Typhoid Mary.” Max Boot, Washington Post
“Pro-gun activists using Facebook groups to push anti-quarantine protests,” Isaac Stanley-Becker and Tony Romm, Washington Post
“Facebook Will Ban Protests That Defy Government ‘Guidance’ on Distancing,” Jordan Pearson, Vice
“Idaho lawmaker under fire for comparing state coronavirus response to Nazi Germany,” Ben Kesslen, NBC News
“What the anti-stay-at-home protests are really about,” Jane Coaston, Vox
“There are 4 requirements for reopening the U.S. amid COVID-19. Americans won’t tolerate all of them.” Peter Weber, The Week
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