Gov. Whitmer: President Trump is “the biggest threat to the American people”
Governor responds to recordings where the president admits to downplaying the pandemic
LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Governor Gretchen Whitmer didn’t hold back while criticizing President Donald Trump the same day he held a rally in Saginaw County.
The president’s visit Thursday comes the day after recordings of him admitting to downplaying the pandemic were released.
In a new book, President Trump told journalist Bob Woodward he was warned in January that the virus had the potential to kill millions. However, President Trump said he chose to downplay the severity because he didn’t want to create panic.
On Thursday morning, News 10′s Cody Butler asked Governor Whitmer about his actions. She called it the “nation’s biggest threat”.
“It’s one thing to be reckless or ignorant and to be deceptive and to have American lives lost because of it,” said Governor Whitmer. “They knew and they didn’t tell us. I think the biggest enemy of the state right now is the misinformation coming from the head of state. I think the biggest threat to the American people is the American president right now. It’s devastating and I do not relish in saying that.”
Governor Whitmer said she is worried about the president’s rally near Saginaw on Thursday.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) said Saginaw County is seeing more than 55 daily new COVID-19 cases per million people, which is considered high risk.
Cases per million people is a standard way of measuring the spread of the virus.
Governor Whitmer said after seeing President Trump’s rallies in other states where people are close to each other and not wearing masks, she’s worried about the increased spread in Michigan.
“I’m concerned about it. This is not a partisan observation. We are in a public health crisis. We all want to get out of this public health crisis. It’s going to take everyone one of us doing the right thing to get out of it together and make this as short as possible,” said Governor Whitmer.
News 10 contacted the White House Press Office for reaction to the governor’s statements, but we did not heard back by the time this story was published.
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