Tens of millions of Americans in recent weeks have willingly complied with stay-at-home guidelines put out by President Trump and by governors, a commendable showing of cohesion and collective good judgment. For many, it came at a steep personal sacrifice. Next will be hard choices about reopening. Doing so too soon risks reigniting a firestorm that has already cost more than 168,000 lives globally. Opening must be done with special protections, testing and data, as Mr. Trump’s own phased-in guidelines would suggest.

The protesters in the United States carried signs such as “Live Free or Die in Lockdown” and “Re-Open Now.” Some of them set a bad example, without masks or social distancing. But what was most concerning was the message that somehow all this sacrifice can be quickly abandoned in the name of liberty and rights. This is wrong. The pursuit of liberty does not mean a license to endanger the lives of others.

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Mr. Trump was exceedingly reckless to incite protests with three tweets on Friday saying “LIBERATE” Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia, all of which have Democratic governors. He undermined his own published public health guidelines and his own reopening plan. His message threatens to destroy broader public confidence in the reasons for the social distancing and mitigation strategies. His comments could inspire additional disobedience and spark new outbreaks and another round of restrictions that would be even harder to impose.

Such a cycle must be avoided. There is no arguing with the facts: The virus jumps from person to person and can kill. A responsible leader would express empathy with the millions of Americans who have followed the rules, reinforce why they are necessary and offer reasonable expectations about what comes next. To fail at this is to fail at a central function of the presidency.

Some protests may reflect a genuine cry for help — from hunger, desperation and fear. These voices must be listened to, and their needs addressed as fast and far as possible.

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In the end, our fate in this pandemic will be determined by what we do now, in the months or more before a vaccine. We must accept strategies that are working to keep as many people alive as possible. Shouting “liberate” invites disaster.

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