Stephen Moore: Coming ‘red state-blue state’ divide on reopenings after coronavirus restrictions

White House economic adviser Stephen Moore on Tuesday said the rush of “red” states to reopen parts of their economy in the coming weeks is going to put pressure on more Democratic-leaning states to do the same.

“You’re going to start to see over the course of the next six weeks or so a kind of red state-blue state divide in the United States where red states are going to open up at a much faster pace than blue states, and that’s going to have really interesting ramifications,” Mr. Moore said on Fox Business Network.

Mr. Moore, one of about 200 industry leaders and experts the White House tapped to advise the administration on reopening the economy, said he spoke to a manufacturer in Wisconsin recently who said their business would close if they can’t open up in the next three to four weeks.

” ’If I see Arizona or Texas opening up and Wisconsin’s closed, guess what? I’m hauling everything into a U-Haul, and we’re going to these other states,’ ” Mr. Moore recounted. “So there’s going to be a lot of pressure on some of these blue states to open up as they see the red states taking the lead.”

A number of Republican governors overseeing states such as Texas, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina have announced plans in recent days to reopen some of their businesses that have been shuttered due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, on Monday announced plans to reopen some businesses in his state in the coming weeks.

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Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan has also said she’d like to get parts of the state’s economy open starting on May 1, though Ms. Whitmer has also vocally criticized protesters calling for a quick end to the restrictions.

Mr. Moore turned some heads when he recently likened anti-quarantine protesters to civil rights icon Rosa Parks. President Trump called that a “strong statement” and said Mr. Moore is a “very good economist.”