Trump announcement: "Today I am identifying houses of worship…as essential places that provide essential services."
He calls on governors to allow houses of worship to reopen now.— Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) May 22, 2020
Evergreen headline: "President Trump Makes Empty Threat"
— Jack Shafer (@jackshafer) May 22, 2020
.@kwelkernbc: The president said he's going to override governors if they don't reopen churches. Under what authority?
McENANY: You're posing a hypothetical
W: He said it!
M: You're assuming that governors are going to keep churches shut down. That is a hypothetical question. pic.twitter.com/AcmIVOeKF9
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 22, 2020
And a reminder that Trump's audience is white Catholics as much as white Evangelicals: https://t.co/Ho8ahVZJCE
— Masked Coward Gibson (@GibsonWrites) May 22, 2020
(When I was growing up “in the Church”, there was an ongoing mostly-underground war between the bishops (as representatives of the official Catholic hierarchy) and the parish priests (representatives of their local communities). That may have changed in the past forty years, but the argument went back to at least the Dark Ages, so… )
Swear to god if I lived through ten years of "YUR ACTIVIST JUDGES CANT FORCE A CHURCH TO MARRY GAY COUPLES!!!" just to watch the entire religious right stare at their feet and cough while a Republican and his handpicked judges order churches to do something against their will… https://t.co/d1vDuCGGfT
— Galar Regional Medical Director (@weedlewobble) May 22, 2020
Thing is most houses of worship either never fully closed or have re-opened within sensible guidelines such as 25% capacity. Trump's stunt is clearly aimed at the megachurches that need meat in seats to keep the SuperPacs funded and the pastor's Gulfstream flying.
— Zeddy (@Zeddary) May 22, 2020