--- title: WH Advisor: Stay-at-Home Protesters Are Like Rosa Parks description: Advisor Stephen Moore compared protestors demonstrating against states' stay-at-home orders to the Civil Rights Era icon Rosa Parks canonical: https://time.com/5823799/white-house-trump-rosa-parks/ author: Madeleine Carlisle article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-04-18T22:32:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:52:10.948Z article:section: Politics og:title: White House Advisor Reportedly Compares Protesters Fighting States' Stay-at-Home Orders to Rosa Parks og:description: Health experts warn that lifting the orders could lead to a needless loss of life og:url: https://time.com/5823799/white-house-trump-rosa-parks/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdd8b254c189c4161/698a0d0d656a3f5495bd9f92/white-house-trump-rosa-parks.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Trump Says He'll Nominate Stephen Moore To Federal Reserve Board og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: White House Advisor Reportedly Compares Protesters Fighting States' Stay-at-Home Orders to Rosa Parks twitter:description: Health experts warn that lifting the orders could lead to a needless loss of life twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdd8b254c189c4161/698a0d0d656a3f5495bd9f92/white-house-trump-rosa-parks.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # White House Advisor Reportedly Compares Protesters Fighting States' Stay-at-Home Orders to Rosa Parks > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=158d0ba0-2c5b-40c6-bc61-1bb7858174f5&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Hundreds Protest Michigan Governor's Social Distancing Order by Rallying at the State Capitol [Watch (HLS stream): Hundreds Protest Michigan Governor's Social Distancing Order by Rallying at the State Capitol](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/leeiPWDx.m3u8) (0:55)  _Published 2020-04-16. Hundreds of flag-waving, honking protesters drove past the Michigan Capitol on Wednesday to show their displeasure with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s orders to keep people at home and businesses locked during the coronavirus outbreak._  by [Madeleine Carlisle](https://time.com/author/madeleine-carlisle/)  ## Madeleine Carlisle Apr 18, 2020 10:32 PM UTC  Stephen Moore, visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, speaks during a Bloomberg Television interview in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, March 22, 2019. Stephen Moore, visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, speaks during a Bloomberg Television interview in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, March 22, 2019. Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg—Getty Images  by [Madeleine Carlisle](https://time.com/author/madeleine-carlisle/)  ## Madeleine Carlisle Apr 18, 2020 10:32 PM UTC Conservative economist Stephen Moore compared protestors demonstrating against states’ [stay-at-home orders](https://time.com/5823792/coordination-states-reopen-coronavirus/) to the Civil Rights Era icon Rosa Parks, [according to a Washington _Post_ article published Friday night.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/rallies-against-stay-at-home-orders-grow-as-trump-sides-with-protesters/2020/04/17/1405ba54-7f4e-11ea-8013-1b6da0e4a2b7%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fcampaign=wp%5Fmain&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=twitter) Groups of protestors have [reportedly](https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/16/us/protests-coronavirus-stay-home-orders/index.html) rallied in at least six states this week to demand state governments lessen orders requiring the closure of nonessential businesses and schools in an attempt [to stem the spread of coronavirus.](https://time.com/5820118/coronavirus-questions-answered/) In a statement to the Washington _Post_, conservative economist Stephen Moore reportedly said, “I think there’s a boiling point that has been reached and exceeded.” Moore belongs on the White House council focused on “re-opening” the country’s economy and as well as a coalition of conservative leaders advocating for steps to lessen the country’s lockdown, according to the _Post_. “I call these people the modern-day Rosa Parks — they are protesting against injustice and a loss of liberties,” Moore said about the protesters, according to the _Post_. Protestors have expressed frustration with life under stay-at-home orders and desire to allow healthy people to resume working to alleviating economic hardships,[ per the AP.](https://apnews.com/ea4c17f541c7c63fac52941a6f43b885) [CNN reports](https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/16/us/protests-coronavirus-stay-home-orders/index.html) that a spokesperson for protestors in Minnesota told CNN affiliate WCCO that they were protesting because they were “suffering from financial setbacks and depression, among other issues.” The group argued that Americans can continue combating coronavirus while also returning to work. [Health experts warn](https://time.com/5808541/coronavirus-donald-trump-economy-public-health/) that lifting the orders and reopening the economy too quickly could risk surging the number of coronavirus cases and lead to a needless loss of life. [Experts say](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/16/coronavirus-testing-needs-to-be-widely-done-before-economy-reopens.html) society cannot begin to reopen until the U.S. has dramatically higher coronavirus testing capabilities; CNBC [reports](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/16/coronavirus-testing-needs-to-be-widely-done-before-economy-reopens.html) that as many as 20 million to 30 million people need to be tested per day before the economy can begin to return to normal. [According to the CDC,](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/testing-in-us.html) the U.S. is currently testing around 120,000 coronavirus samples per day. Moore’s comment were swiftly criticized by some on social media. “Stephen Moore calls them ‘modern-day Rosa Parks.’ But Parks desired different freedoms,” activist and author Ibram X. Kendi tweeted. “These folk want the freedom to infect, like they have wanted the freedom to enslave, lynch, deport, exclude, rob. They have always protested the ‘loss of liberties.'” > [](https://twitter.com/DrIbram/status/1251549681785716736) “\[This\] stuff is very obviously coordinated and clearly meant to create the impression that stay-at-home orders are broadly unpopular when the truth is just the opposite,” New York _Times_ opinion columnist Jamelle Bouie also wrote. > [](https://twitter.com/jbouie/status/1251488526870421505) “When people say stupid things, don’t get stuck on stupid. Stupid is an act to distract. Stay focused on what’s true & real. Let’s be smart & vote this foolishness out of office in November,” activist and minister Reverend William Barber wrote on Twitter. > [](https://twitter.com/RevDrBarber/status/1251610273741508609) > [](https://twitter.com/nhannahjones/status/1251515531565375490) > [](https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1251357553705041920) Moore made a similar claim in an April 14 episode of the YouTube show “Freedom On Tap.” When speaking about protestors in Wisconsin, he said, “This is a great time, gentlemen and ladies, for civil disobedience. We need to be the Rosa Parks here and protest against these government injustices.” Moore had repeatedly advocated for reopening the economy, and [said in an interview with CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-adviser-stephen-moore-on-an-economic-reopening-do-it-now/) on Friday, “I think actually think we should have started this a week or two ago.” Moore could not be immediately reached for comment. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5823799/white-house-trump-rosa-parks/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5823799/white-house-trump-rosa-parks/"},"headline":"White House Advisor Reportedly Compares Protesters Fighting States' Stay-at-Home Orders to Rosa Parks","datePublished":"2020-04-18T22:32:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:52:10.948Z","description":"Health experts warn that lifting the orders could lead to a needless loss of life","url":"https://time.com/5823799/white-house-trump-rosa-parks/","keywords":["COVID-19","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdd8b254c189c4161/698a0d0d656a3f5495bd9f92/white-house-trump-rosa-parks.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Madeleine Carlisle","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/madeleine-carlisle/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdd8b254c189c4161/698a0d0d656a3f5495bd9f92/white-house-trump-rosa-parks.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Trump Says He'll Nominate Stephen Moore To Federal Reserve Board","caption":"Trump Says He'll Nominate Stephen Moore To Federal Reserve Board","creditText":"Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/covid-19/","name":"COVID-19"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5823799/white-house-trump-rosa-parks/","name":"White House Advisor Reportedly Compares Protesters Fighting States' Stay-at-Home Orders to Rosa Parks"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Hundreds Protest Michigan Governor's Social Distancing Order by Rallying at the State Capitol","description":"Hundreds of flag-waving, honking protesters drove past the Michigan Capitol on Wednesday to show their displeasure with Gov. 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