Opinion | Trump is playing with fire with his handling of the coronavirus crisis

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in a new window)
• Click to email a friend (Opens in a new window)

Editor's Note: Frida Ghitis, former CNN producer and correspondent, writes on international issues. She is a frequent contributor to CNN opinion, a contributing columnist for the Washington Post, and a columnist for the World Politics Review. Follow her on Twitter @fridaghitis. The opinions expressed in this comment are specific to the author. More opinion at CNNE.com/opinion.

(CNN) - President Donald Trump is playing with fire. Just 24 hours after he told the nation's governors, "They're going to make their own decisions," when it comes to reopening the economy, the president posted a series of incendiary messages on Twitter that seemed to incite his followers to rebel. against orders to stay home.

"FREE MICHIGAN!" he yelled in a tweet. He issued similar tweets calling for the release of Minnesota and Virginia, including a disturbing addendum to loyalists to "save his great second amendment," adding: "She is under siege!" It is unclear why Trump mentioned the right to bear arms in reference to measures to mitigate the pandemic, but the language is familiar. Who can forget his comments at a rally in 2016, when he considered the possibility that Hillary Clinton could win the presidential election? "If she chooses her judges, there is nothing that friends can do," Trump said before adding, "although the people of the Second Amendment, maybe yes, I don't know."

When he talks about "liberating" a state, he is asking for a repeat of what happened in Michigan on Wednesday, when thousands of protesters, many of them holding Trump posters, wearing MAGA hats and singing "Close it!" Protested the orders. of staying at home issued by Governor Gretchen Whitmer in a life and death effort to stop a pandemic that has already ended the lives of thousands in their state, one of the most affected in the country.

What exactly is Trump trying to do? This is not an audible signal that is out of range. We can all hear it. Trump is calling for an open revolt in three states, potentially competitive in 2020 and run by Democratic governors. The three states also host thousands of people diagnosed with covid-19, a disease that has killed tens of thousands of Americans, with the potential to kill millions in the United States if it is allowed to freely follow its course in the population.

Even if judged on his own record, these incendiary messages from Trump are beyond the limit for many reasons.

First, the President is undermining the guidelines he personally announced the day before. Neither state meets the requirements it outlined from the podium on Thursday to begin reopening the economy. The step-by-step approach requires careful consideration before restrictions are relaxed, to avoid the resurgence of the relentless coronavirus. By contradicting his own guide, produced with the help of public health experts, the President undermines the credibility of the entire mitigation effort. Mass protests can spread the virus by sending the message that it is safe to ignore orders to stay home. Trump's tweets, if taken into account, are likely to cause more deaths.

Second, Trump is calling for disobedience during the most unstable moment. It is understandable that people feel tense and restless; for many, their income is disappearing. Anger and frustration lie just below the surface. It would not take long for the peaceful protests to turn violent. Trump's allusion to the right to bear arms makes the prospect of violence more ominous.

Third, Trump may discover that once he incites his followers, he may not be able to control them if they decide to act. These are different times than all we have experienced. Emotions are on the surface. That's a tantalizing canvas for a demagogue looking to design his own version of reality, but there is no guarantee that Trump can control what he unleashes.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee accused the President of "fomenting national rebellion." He was not the only one who saw that as the message. After Trump's series of tweets, right-wing extremists questioned whether the president called for a "boogaloo," a term created by 4chan - an online forum - that extremists use to describe an armed insurrection.

Why is Trump undermining his own message just 24 hours after he issued it? Why are you risking a resurgence of the virus that could threaten your reelection?

Trump, understandably, is eager for the impact of the shutdown on the economy and its political future. He hates that experts are telling him that reopening too soon would lead to an even greater disaster. Experts tell you one thing, but some corporate executives, along with Fox News hosts, have a different message: reopen and disbelieve in scientists.

The Michigan protests were organized by a pro-Trump political group and praised Fox. Primetime hosts, including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro and others, commented on the protesters' love for freedom. Laura Ingraham rejoiced: "It is time to regain your freedom!" Pirro told Hannity that "the American spirit is too strong and the Americans are not going to allow it," predicting that the protests would spread across the country. Trump appears to be torn. At the White House, listen to Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx tell him to go slowly, at the reopening. On television, his ego masseurs tell him it's a mistake.

But there is more. Trump has the sixth sense of a populist to exploit the frustrations of the masses. The shutdown has already destroyed tens of millions of jobs, leaving countless Americans deprived of income and fearing the future. Trump does not want to be held responsible for any of that. By inciting riots on the battlefields with Democratic governors, he is telling people who to blame for their problems, while making his way for reelection.

It is a cunning ploy, but doomed to failure. He is still president. Will be responsible. Her desperate effort to change responsibility could make the situation worse. By waving a lit torch in the midst of a disaster, you can start a fire in the rubble.

coronavirus