Only 20% of Americans say they would be game to resume normal activities "immediately" once the government lifts social distancing requirements on schools and businesses, according to a new Gallup survey. The rest of America is poised to wait it out, with 71% saying they would "wait and see" what happens and another 10% saying they would continue to curtail their daily activities “indefinitely.”
Donald Trump continues to fixate on May 1 (a couple short weeks from now) as the date when he plans to jumpstart the economy, but virtually no one agrees with him—not the governors of the states that form the economic heart of America, not the public health experts, not even his own business council for reopening the country, and not the American people.
There was, however, a group of MAGA activists in Michigan who descended on the state's capital Wednesday to protest the Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's stay-at-home order. They called it #OperationGridlock, effectively shutting down the city of Lansing by clogging its major arteries with idle automobiles for miles. Lots of MAGA paraphernalia, American flags, and the occasional shoutout to the Confederacy, according to the Washington Post. Naturally, protesters found it necessary to flood the front lawn of the capitol, shouting "Lock her up!" Because any woman in a position of power clearly deserves to be jailed, even when she's trying to save lives. Michigan has the third highest coronavirus count in the nation.
Similar protests have taken place in North Carolina and Ohio, where Republican Gov. Mike DeWine has very pro-actively implemented social distancing measures.
Asked about the protest on Wednesday, Whitmer offered, “I’m not focusing on politics. ... I’m trying to save lives here. We have to remember the enemy is the virus. Not one another.”
The Gallup polling suggests the American public largely agrees with that goal, except for a 20% faction that wants to get back to business as usual "immediately."
