Gov. Whitmer Lied About Trip To Florida
“I was here in town the whole time.”
LANSING, MICH—Gov. Gretchen Whitmer lied to MIRS News during an interview last week in an attempt to cover up her recent out-of-state travel to an undisclosed location.
“I was here in town the whole time,” Whitmer told MIRS podcast host Kyle Melinn on April 12, a week before her secret out-of-state trip became public.[BREAKING: Whitmer Traveled to Florida While Telling Michiganders To Stay Put]
Whitmer’s Lies (see full transcript below)
LIE #1
Reporter: “Have you had any days off for the last year? That’s the question I want to know.”
Whitmer: “Um, I didn’t do much of anything, you saw me, I was here in town the whole time.”
LIE #2
Reporter: “If you could’ve gone anywhere for spring break, where would you have gone?”
Whitmer: “Oh gosh, I don’t know… …the last trip I’ve taken was to Israel.”
Whitmer asserted to the reporter that she hasn’t traveled recently. See full transcript below, where it is clear the governor was lying, and attempting to keep it a secret, that she had recently traveled out-of-state. Notice the nervous laughter at the end of her answer.
“The issue is not that Gov. Whitmer visited her father, it’s that she lied about it and continues to hide key facts,” said Ted Goodman, Communications Director of the Michigan Republican Party. It’s also hypocritical as Michiganders were denied the same opportunity through her rules that locked people from visiting their loved ones in hospitals and nursing homes.”
Whitmer made the trip about a month ago, according to a report by MIRS News that was confirmed by the governor’s office.
Whitmer’s travel to Florida contradicts her Administrations’ 14 months of shutdown orders, lockdowns, and calls for Michiganders to stay home to stay safe.
Whitmer still refuses to confirm the location or dates of the out-of-state travel. (RELATED: Whitmer’s Top Health Official Vacations Out-of-State As Michigan Leads Nation in New COVID-19 Cases)
Send all media inquiries to Ted Goodman, communications director, at tgoodman@migop.org.
FULL TRANSCRIPT
MIRS News Podcast – April 12, 2021
START [24:28] Kyle Melinn, MIRS News Reporter: “Joining me on the other end of the line here is the Governor of the State of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, thanks for joining us on the podcast.”
[24:35] Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: “Glad to be with you, Kyle.”
[24:37] Melinn: “All right, so this was spring break, so I was able to get a few days off, were you able to get a few days off? Have you had any days off for the last year? That’s the question I want to know, it seems like you’ve been on for an entire year.”
[24:48] Whitmer: “Yeah, like most people on my team, we’ve been working 14 months without much of a break. Um, my, my, daughter had spring break. Um, I didn’t do much of anything, you saw me, I was here in town the whole time, but, um, you know, it’s, the weather’s getting nicer, so I’m moving some of my zoom calls outside, that’s the most exciting, ah, development.” [nervous laughter]
[25:09] Melinn: “If you could’ve gone anywhere for spring break, where would you have gone?”
[25:12] Whitmer: “Oh gosh, I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it, I, you know I, my last, my first big trip as governor, ah, and the last trip I’ve taken was to Israel. Um, and that was an, ah, incredible opportunity to showcase what’s going on in Michigan, to sign some memorandums of understanding, and um, my family came over for the last part we had a little family time together over there so that was spectacular and I kind of tapped into that feeling many times over the last 14 months when I needed to think about what will we do in the future, what will it look like,”
[25:46] Whitmer: “So, I look forward to, to getting out and about, I’m looking forward to getting my second vaccine shot in, ya know, two, two, and a half more weeks and, um, that will give me a lot of peace of mind and give me the confidence that I can get out more and I’m excited about that.”
[26:00] Melinn: “I saw that at least one member of your administration has gone out and was in Florida, Trish Foster. What was your thought when you saw that? Were you okay with your folks going out to Florida?”
[26:15] Whitmer: “Ya know, like I just said, I mean, most people in my administration have not taken a day off in 14 months, and, you know, we’ve never had any travel restrictions in Michigan. I’ve just encouraged people if they travel to be safe, mask up, get vaccinated. Ms. Foster is fully vaccinated, so, I. you know I, I think there’s not much more to say about this kind of partisan hit job on one of my staff people from a white nationalist website. We all need to show one another a little bit of grace, we’re all really eager to get out and about and to, to do that.”
[26:46] Whitmer: “and if you want to travel, to be safe, like, like Ms. Foster was by being fully vaccinated and, you know, just doing what you need to do to stay safe and, and we, we’re getting there and the more people get vaccinated, the more likely we can all enjoy doing that, um, and stay safe doing it.” [END]