Michigan governor pleads for help as Trump mocks her on Fox News

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) was on the phone with the White House asking for federal assistance at the same time Donald Trump was on Fox News attacking her, Whitmer said in a Friday morning interview with WWJ News Radio.

“I reached out to the White House last night, asked for a phone call with the president, ironically at the same time that all this other stuff was going on,” Whitmer said.

Whitmer was referring to Trump attacking her during a Thursday night Fox News interview with Sean Hannity.

“She’s not stepping up,” Trump said about Whitmer. “All she does is sit there and blame the federal government. She doesn’t get it done. And we send her a lot.”

Trump also said Whitmer “is a new governor, and it’s not been pleasant.”

In her Friday interview, Whitmer remained focused on the ongoing crisis.

“I don’t go into personal attacks,” she said. “I don’t have time for that. I don’t have energy for that, frankly. All of our focus has to be on COVID-19 right here, right now.”

After Trump’s attack on Michigan, Whitmer revealed that vendors are refusing to send medical supplies to the state.

“Venders with whom we had contracts are now being told not to send stuff here to Michigan,” Whitmer said, calling the situation “really concerning.”

“The fact of the matter remains: We need help,” she added. “And at the very least, we don’t need people standing in our way from getting it.”

Thursday was not the first time Trump singled out Whitmer for an attack. On March 17, Trump wrote on Twitter, “Failing Michigan Governor must work harder and be much more proactive,” and adding, “We are pushing her to get the job done. I stand with Michigan!”

That attack came after Whitmer appeared on MSNBC criticizing the slow response of the federal government to the coronavirus crisis.

“In order to flatten the curve, we need to be aggressive on the front end,” Whitmer said that morning. “The federal government did not take this seriously early enough and now it is on us to make sure we’re doing everything we can based on the best facts and science available and that we are always putting the health of our people front and center.”

Medical professionals across the country have issued dire warnings about the lack of medical supplies to handle this pandemic. There are not enough protective masks for doctors and nurses, and many states are seeing a critical shortage of ventilators needed to keep those who are seriously ill alive.

Rather than act with urgency at the beginning of the year, Trump ignored warnings from health experts. As a result, companies like Ford are just now beginning to make ventilators, but that equipment will not be ready until June.

On Thursday, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration balked at a $1 billion price tag to secure up to 80,000 additional ventilators, even as the death toll from the pandemic surpassed 1,000 people.

During Thursday’s interview with Hannity, Trump said that he doesn’t even believe the needs of doctors requesting more ventilators.

“I have a feeling that a lot of the numbers that are being said in some areas are just bigger than they’re going to be,” Trump told Hannity. “I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators. You go into major hospitals sometimes, and they’ll have two ventilators. And now, all of a sudden, they’re saying, ‘Can we order 30,000 ventilators?'”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.