Tipsheet

Whitmer Finally Admits What Everyone Else Knew About Her COVID Policies From the Beginning

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  March 14, 2023 9:15 AM

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Michigan had some of the most restrictive policies in the nation. Not only were many of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s orders ridiculous, but they were also completely arbitrary. Residents could enter hardware stores, but were prohibited from certain aisles that sold gardening supplies, for example. They could enjoy the great lakes on kayaks, canoes and sailboats, but were banned from using jet skis and motorboats. And forget about traveling to any second homes under her mandate—not allowed. 

Now, three years later, Whitmer has finally admitted in hindsight what was obvious to everyone else at the time.

“There were moments where we had to make some decisions that in retrospect don't make a lot of sense,” the governor told CNN of the gardening supply restriction. “You could go into the hardware store, but we didn’t want people all congregating around the gardening supplies,” Whitmer added, before addressing criticism of that move. “People said, ‘Oh, she outlawed seeds.’ It was February in Michigan. No one was planting anyway.

“That being said, some of those policies I look back and think that maybe was a little more than we needed to do,” Whitmer admitted. 

As Twitter users pointed out, however, Whitmer's timeline is inaccurate. The state's first stay-at-home order came in March of 2020 and was extended on April 9 with stricter orders for stores that remained open, which is when the carpeting, flooring, furniture, garden centers, plant nurseries, and paint areas of hardware stores were closed off. 

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