April 15, 2021
Whitmer Falsely Claims Michigan Never Had Travel Restrictions As Reports Surface That Democrats Are Growing Frustrated With The Governor
Governor Gretchen Whitmer falsely claimed that Michigan never had travel restrictions during a virtual press conference yesterday. Her comments were intended to defend the state’s health director who is under fire for taking a spring break trip while her health department issued an advisory recommending no travel unless it was “unavoidable.”
Whitmer dishonestly stated, “There have never been travel restrictions in Michigan.” Last year Whitmer announced her first ‘Stay Home’ order on March 23rd. It was extended several times and lasted through June 12.
Whitmer said the outcry over her health director defying the department’s own guidance not to travel was a “partisan hit job.”
But it’s not just Republicans who are frustrated with Whitmer’s team flouting their own advice. Phoebe Wall Howard, a reporter from The Detroit Free Press tweeted: “I’ve talked to loyal Democrats, strong supporters of Gretchen Whitmer, who say they’re stunned her own high-profile team fails to follow her advice and suffers no consequences. People expected COO fired. Optics matter.”
Whitmer flouted her own ‘work from home’ order to fly to Delaware to meet with Joe Biden last August. Then she traveled to D.C. to attend his inauguration with thousands of people while Michigan had a strict 25 person limit on gatherings.
“Whitmer says that Michigan’s COVID surge is a ‘compliance problem,’ but her own top aides are not even adhering to their own guidance,” said Tori Sachs, executive director of Michigan Rising Action. “Whitmer’s dishonest claim that Michigan never had travel restrictions is wildly inaccurate and no one who has lived through her excessive decrees and observed her hypocrisy is going to be fooled by more false claims.”