Critics were reeling after right-wing White House adviser and economist Stephen Moore compared gun-toting white guys protesting COVID-19 safety measures to Rosa Parks and her historic battle for racial equality.

The comments were particularly galling because Moore once commented that when President Donald Trump took office, he was evicting the Obamas from public housing — a dig that was widely considered racist.

Moore said Friday that those protesting COVID-19 social distancing measures — many of whom were also brandishing pro-Trump signs and carrying assault rifles — were just like Parks, whose refusal to give her bus seat to a white passenger was a seminal moment in the Civil Rights Movement.

When asked about the comment at his Saturday press briefing, Trump claimed he didn’t know what Moore said. But he agreed with Moore that there was a “lot of injustice” regarding regulations intended to help stem the spread of COVID-19.

The President gets a chance to distance himself from Stephen Moore’s Rosa Parks statements and doesn’t take it pic.twitter.com/XSLYgha7n6 — Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) April 18, 2020

Some opposed to COVID-19 safety measures have also compared their struggle with stay-at-home restrictions to the plight of Anne Frank, who hid in her home for two years until she was captured by the Nazis.

Comedian Patton Oswalt quickly turned that one around:

Anne Frank spent 2 years hiding in an attic and we’ve been home for just over a month with Netflix, food delivery & video games and there are people risking viral death by storming state capital buildings & screaming, “Open Fuddruckers!” — Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) April 18, 2020

Many other Twitter users joined Oswalt in expressing their horror at Moore’s comments:

no the quarantine is not the same as anne frank hiding from the nazis in the secret annex for two years, i am begging you to shut the fuck up — samantha✡️🏳️‍🌈🌹🔥 (@koshersemite) April 19, 2020

Congratulations to Trump adviser Stephen Moore on a comment at once strikingly stupid and deeply offensive.

“I call these people the modern-day Rosa Parks — they are protesting against injustice and a loss of liberties.” https://t.co/2V1mhWFDC9 pic.twitter.com/TJIa4EZnap — Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) April 18, 2020

.@StephenMoore is a dangerous charlatan and fool. He calls the protesters he's egging on, modern-day Rosa Parks. Seems he knows less about history than he does about economics. #coronavirus — Gregg Gonsalves (@gregggonsalves) April 18, 2020

I don’t know who needs to hear this.



But the right to eat inside an Applebee’s should not be and never compared to Rosa Parks and the Civil Right’s Movement.



No innocent person got lynched by a racist mob because you couldn’t get fucking Fiesta Lime Chicken. — Solomon Balaam-Reed (@ReedBalaam) April 19, 2020

Rosa Parks showed genuine courage in risking her life to pursue equal justice in an era of violent, racist mobs who terrorized and lynched black Americans. How arrogant and ignorant it is for @StephenMoore to try to equate his Trump-fueled mobs with her. https://t.co/zbZL5nfdlO — Lisa Graves (@thelisagraves) April 18, 2020

When Rosa Parks wouldn’t give up her seat on a bus in 1955, she wasn’t risking the lives of every person within six feet of her. Just saying. — Nicholas Ponticello (@NickPonticello) April 19, 2020

#RosaParks couldn’t eat where she wanted, sit where she wanted, get jobs she was qualified for or vote. The right-wing protesters incited by #Trump demand the right to endanger everyone so they lawn fertilizer and get their roots dyed. #Coronavirus https://t.co/CxjA50a9Fx — Maya Wiley (@mayawiley) April 18, 2020

Stephen Moore is a despicable, ignorant ass who insults generations of suffering that led to the courage and sacrifice of Rosa Parks and many many more. Yet another reflection of Trump’s vile admiration of low life,unqualified,zealot morons! #VoteBlueNoMatterWho — Charlie Adler (@charlie_adler) April 18, 2020

Could you have imagined the outcome if Rosa brought a gun to the bus?



White House adviser Stephen Moore repeatedly compared right-wing protesters who oppose coronavirus safety measures to Rosa Parks, the civil rights icon who fought for racial equality. https://t.co/u9ozzAtXpO — Scott Huffman For Congress (@HuffmanForNC) April 18, 2020

When people like Stephen Moore make comparisons to Ross Parks we should treat it as the cynical, calculated form of race baiting that it is. Enslavers said *they* were in fact the slaves. Segregationists adopted Civil Rights mvmt language to fight policies to help black people. — Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) April 18, 2020

Well, they’re close to Rosa Parks. They would have been driving the bus. https://t.co/GIC52px7RA — Peter Sagal (@petersagal) April 18, 2020

Moore is a member of Trump’s council focused on reopening the economy, and is also part of a coalition of conservatives called “Save Our Country,” which has been opposing coronavirus-related business shutdowns and stay-at-home measures. He dropped out of consideration to serve on the Federal Reserve Board last year due to concerns about his qualifications — and his controversial comments about women and race.

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