DETROIT – Critics are calling out Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for allegedly being a little less than truthful when asked if she traveled anywhere following her trip to Florida to visit her father.
READ: Michigan Gov. Whitmer blasts criticism over visiting sick father in Florida
The Governor’s personal trip to visit her sick father made headlines again after critics pointed to a recent interview on the Michigan Information and Research Service podcast that aired April 12. In the interview, Whitmer was asked where she could travel for spring break if she could.
“Oh gosh, I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it,” Whitmer said. “My last, my first big trip as governor and last trip I’ve taken was to Israel.”
Republican lawmakers claim Whitmer purposefully left out the three trips she’s taken in the last six months.
Whitmer flew to Israel in November 2019 with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and then took some family time on vacation in the Middle East country. A spokesperson for the Governor noted that the question was about vacation time, not personal family time, like her recent trip to visit her chronically ill father.
That trip has come under scrutiny as one of the three trips Whitmer has taken out of the state. She took two trips to Washington, D.C. for the inauguration and to visit National Guard Troops.
“The Governor did not go on spring break and she has not left the state in over a month,” reads a statement in part from the Governor’s Office. “All trips were very brief, two full days or less, closely followed public health guidelines and were made when Michigan’s daily positivity rate was in the low single digits.”
The Governor’s Office also said her father is fully vaccinated and the recommended COVID precautions were taken during that brief trip.
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