Whitmer: I'd Handle Schools Differently, But Didn't Know COVID Was Respiratory, Kids Were Low Risk, Overall, 'I'm Proud'

On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) stated that she would handle the coronavirus pandemic differently if she knew then what she knows now, but “We did not know it was respiratory in nature. We didn’t know that it would be people on the other end of the age spectrum who would be most vulnerable. And so, I think that the education stuff, we would’ve been able to do a lot more to help our kids.” But overall, “I’m proud of what we did, and I can tell you, the people of Michigan, I think, by and large, we got through this as well as we could and we’re seeing our economy growing and there’s a lot of good stuff going on, but it was a tough time.”

Whitmer said, “If I could go in a time machine with the knowledge we’ve accumulated and make different decisions along the way, sure. I think any leader worth their salt would say the same thing. None of us knew what we were confronting. It was a novel virus. We were building the plane as we were flying it and 50 different states, 50 different policies and we had a White House that was not only disseminating misinformation, but they were pitting us against one another by telling us to go find our own masks and gloves. … So, sure, knowing what we know now, if I could go back, I would certainly do some things different, but I’m proud of what we did, and I can tell you, the people of Michigan, I think, by and large, we got through this as well as we could and we’re seeing our economy growing and there’s a lot of good stuff going on, but it was a tough time.”

Host Jake Tapper then asked, “What do you think would be the number one thing that you would do differently?”

Whitmer responded, “Well, think about what we were confronting, right? The knowledge of the last pandemic was from the 1918 flu that disproportionately hurt little kids, killed little kids, took lives of some of the youngest Americans and I think one of our collective worries was that, in our schools, if our kids were going and they were getting sick, that they would start dying. We did not know it was respiratory in nature. We didn’t know that it would be people on the other end of the age spectrum who would be most vulnerable. And so, I think that the education stuff, we would’ve been able to do a lot more to help our kids.”

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