Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) on Monday took another jab at American citizens who have taken their frustration with the economic shutdowns to the streets.
“President Trump called this a war, and it is exactly that. Let’s act like it,” Whitmer said on Monday, criticizing concerned residents who flocked to the State Capitol to protest the shutdowns that continue to bar millions of Americans from work.
“In World War II, there weren’t people lining up at the Capitol to protest the fact that they had to drop everything they were doing and build planes or tanks, or to ration food,” she said, taking a dig at the demonstrators.
“They rolled up their sleeves, and they got to work. We were all in this together, and it wasn’t indefinite. It was until we had beaten the enemy,” she continued.
“No state shined more in those days than the state of Michigan. We are called to act again. It is our time to shine, to put aside our political differences, to come together and defeat our common enemy,” Whitmer added:
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: "In World War II, there weren't people lining up at the capitol to protest the fact that they had to drop everything they were doing and build planes or tanks, or to ration food." pic.twitter.com/1Y6MaRrjUq
— The Hill (@thehill) April 21, 2020
This is far from the first time Whitmer has criticized concerned Michiganders, some of whom flocked to the Capitol in Lansing last week to demonstrate their disapproval of the governor’s executive orders closing businesses, schools, and forcing residents to stay home — even banning visits between neighbors.
“We know that when people gather that way without masks, they were in close proximity, they were touching one another, that that’s how COVID-19 spreads,” Whitmer said last week, blaming the protesters for what could be further restrictions.
“So the sad irony here is that the protest was that they don’t like being in this stay home order,” she said, adding, “and they may have just created the need to lengthen it.”
The governor also appeared on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show last week and suggested the protesters were engaging in “irresponsible action.”
Michigan’s stay-at-home order is expected to expire April 30, but Whitmer said the state’s next steps are largely contingent on “how these next ten days go.”
“To those of you who are hopeful we’ll be able to start loosening some restrictions, stay home now to better make the odds that we’re able to do that in ten days,” she said Monday.
“To those of you who want to get back to work as soon as possible, stay home. For those of you who made plans for June, July, and August and want to see them through, stay home,” she warned.
Radio host Steve Gruber, who attended Wednesday’s protest in Lansing, encompassed the sentiments of many protesters and warned that Whitmer has essentially “put Michigan back in Donald Trump’s column.”
“Look at this,” he said of the protest. “You think these people aren’t going to vote? These people are all going to vote. Every one of these people. Every direction you look here. They’re all going to vote. Every one of them.”
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