Julia Pickett via Wikimedia Commons

Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, it has been learned, used a private jet provided by wealthy Detroit business leaders to travel to Florida three times while her state was in severe lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The trips, gubernatorial spokesman Bobby Leddy said, were taken so that the governor might visit her elderly father at the same time she was discouraging Michigan residents to stay in their homes and while hospital safety precautions kept people from visiting elderly relatives hospitalized because of the virus. 

According to Deadline Detroit, Whitmer avoided a private plane fee of as much as $20,000 by arranging for Michigan billionaires to fly her where she wanted to go. Use of the jet she took is estimated to cost as much as $40,000, an estimated 25 percent of Whitmer’s pre-tax gubernatorial salary. “We wondered why she reached out to us instead of booking a private charter,” one of the owners of the plane is reported to have said. “You can’t tell a governor no. Who needs that kind of trouble?”

Whitmer, who was recently notified she would be receiving a 2021 Profiles in Courage award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation for her work fighting the spread of COVID, has declined to say whether the people who provided the plane have been reimbursed for the cost of the flights. 

“I’ve said everything I’m going to say about my trip to check on my father,” she told a reporter from WWTV. “I’ve got nothing to add. We don’t discuss my travel. I have received an incredible number of death threats over the last year and a half. There are a lot of reasons we don’t discuss how I travel and when I travel.”

Whitmer has come under fire multiple times for her management of state affairs during the pandemic. Her husband Marc Mallory reportedly tried to have his boat placed in the water before Memorial Day weekend in 2020 in an apparent violation of what some have called “the most draconian stay-at-home orders in the nation” and while exercising privileges available only to those who belong to “the aristocracy of pull.”

Whitmer’s evasions aside, the governor’s conduct brings her under further scrutiny over her haven’t bent or broken rules she was encouraging the residents of her state to follow. According to The Federalist’s Gabe Kaminsky, the Michigan chief executive had not been vaccinated before her four day trip to Florida, which took her from the state capital in Lansing to West Palm Beach – this after expressing repeated concerns that GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis had irresponsibly allowed the Sunshine State to reopen too much and too fast as the pandemic appeared to spread.

“Governor Whitmer lied about her trip to Florida and is compounding her lies by refusing to disclose the cost of the private plane she used, if she paid for her personal trip, and what the fair market value of that payment was,” Michigan GOP executive director Jason Roe said.

 

Peter Roff is a former U.S. News & World Report contributing editor now affiliated with several Washington, D.C. public policy organizations. He appears regularly as a commentator on the One America News network. Reach him by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @PeterRoff.



Peter Roff is affiliated with several Washington, D.C. public policy organizations and is a former U.S. News and World Report contributing editor who appears regularly as a commentator on the One America News network. He can be reached by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @PeterRoff.

Comments

    1. Something else: Nothing is going to happen with her, and this is just how liberals boast of their elite status. They’re immune from rules and public rebuke. You’ll notice that “Any Twosome Newsom” is not in the limelight, despite the fact that he violated his own curfew, meeting with wealthy people at a high-priced restaurant, which was supposed to be shut down. Not only that, he wasn’t wearing a mask.

        1. now there is two problems
          1) smart voters
          2)cheating or illegal votes which tthese trators got away with in the presidential election

        2. We’re trying to do just that. The Recall effort is still underway. I emailed Newsom with my suggestion: I told him to resign.

        3. therein lies the problem. Democrat voters are mostly stupid, clueless people, or crooks themselves.

        1. True Americans took a stand during the 18th Century, defeating tyranny, and establishing our Constitutional Republic (We also took a stand during the 21st Century, when Trump was elected.) There are now people who call themselves “Americans” with disdain, and rewrite our history to condemn our Founding Fathers, calling them racists and tearing down their monuments. Somehow, the media and government have colluded to impugn the image of the American people. Many of those people don’t even give our country top billing! Instead, they superimpose a nation or continent as their preferred title. If I was the president, that form of treason would result in them getting their wish.

      1. Just wait ….. Very much on the right side, Kaitlin Jenner will blow Gavin “Nonsense” away !!!
        No one will take a platform away from her, since she is a “trans” !!! She is not only a strong body athlete, but a strong minded and a very well spoken, also an intelligent one to boot … She is going to be the “MAGIC BULLET” for California, and possible for many other blue states, to have more “blind lefty” to see the light ….

  1. Acromonious Joe Biden trying to shake his guilty conscious, for his portrayal of the American people, his faith, and his oath to protect our country, and its constitution. Our president is now the joke of International leaders, who think Biden stole the election, which he did, and is being controlled by those hiding behind the drapes. What are other countries saying, Mexico’s government is telling Biden and his administration to start helping fix the situation, with Mexico’s president even saying that Biden is the “migrant president” and is having policies and statements that are empowering Mexico’s dangerous cartels, human traffickers and suffering of its immigrants. Guatemala’s president joined Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador blamed Joe Biden for the border crisis, during a sit-down interview with MSNBC. Current leaders are avoiding Biden for fear it will cost them more money for pay to play, after similar experiences with the Clinton’s, Putin says no more meetings Joe, would like my 3 million plus returned given to Hunter, throw out all our diplomats who cares, at least Clinton gave us a few BS speeches, yet, you can’t remember any of deals or where your at, or why your there. China, China, China what’s being agreed to there Joe? or has it already been agreed upon for that 200 million Hunter received from China? Biden / Harris need to be impeached and any Democrat that can not stand for America first and our Constitution also need to go. Folks we have no leadership at the White House.

    1. However, we have Santa Claus in the WH giving China the rights to the vaccine patents after they were the ones that let loose the virus that crippled the world. What a fool of a man. What does the CCP have on Joe that he so freely gives up the patents? How much $$$ will he benefit from that deal?

  2. Isn’t that “free” plane trips, or rather trips to Florida a TAXABLE benefit…is the IRS going to look into this, or just let it go because she’s a Democrat and laws and rules don’t apply to Democrats????????????

    1. If your sentiments gain significant traction, it is YOU who’ll be audited. That’s one among an arsenal of liberal tactics. You should read what is occurring with Dr. Lorraine Day. She’s been elevated to the Black Helicopter tier!…

  3. Seems like the federal , state, and local departments of the IRS, campaign ethics committees, and AG’s should be looking into whether any laws or regulations were violated. A sitting politicians just cannot accept ‘gifts’ of that value. She can’t use her campaign funds for personal trips. And I highly doubt that she paid any of the costs.

    1. Good Question. Why was Hitler elected to office? Why did a New York Jewish activist travel to Russia in order to formulate a political party to establish the Bolshevik Regime? Why did a known rapist, communist sympathizer, draft dodging, coke sniffing governor of Arkansas get elected to the presidency…TWICE? Why did a Jewish Communist confer with a Cuban dictator to gain the leadership in Venezuela, then bankrupt one of the most prosperous, oil rich nations on earth? There’s one underlying factor in all of these tragedies that’s common: Female Suffrage.

    2. Because broads vote for broads, or at least candidates who acknowledge women during their campaigns. Rather than recognize limitations to government functions, females are conditioned to install a form of leadership that focuses on their agendas. The problem being, while their representatives endeavor to introduce gender-specific legislation, protections, speech codes and other advantages (Wait’ll we start funding government-furnished babysitters..) they’re also expanding their powers far beyond the parameters established by a Constitution they swear to uphold. Ministering to minorities and women was NEVER a function of a candidate or public official. These elements of political expediency merely provide unlimited opportunities for tyrants to gain office.

    1. Her ‘job’ is to demoralize conservatives, and ’empower’ the liberal ideologues who campaign for ‘fairness’, ‘equality’ and ‘tolerance’. In order to implement such agendas as official government sanctioned goals, conservative populations must be marginalized, and silenced. Once that measure has been achieved, the size/scope/cost/authority of the government will attain inviolable levels, and we’ll all be treated to a parade of these shenanigans to demonstrate the omnipotent power and immunity of these tyrants to discipline. Notice please how Numb Skull Nancy Pelosi and her nephew arrogantly defied their own mandates?

  4. The people of Michigan need to wake up and vote her out. Haven’t they had enough yet?
    I call her Herman from the show the Munsters. Just look at her square forehead. Haha
    They’ve had endless and the most restrictive lockdowns. Why are they still suffering with cases?
    Good question. Michigan’s need to revolt and start living their lives and businesses need to open now.
    VOTE HER OUT!

  5. You folks must realize this is the method liberals employ to foment resentment, envy and discord. You can read a fairly accurate assessment of these methods in an article written by none other than Winston Churchill. He very candidly identified the ‘usual suspects’ in that article.

  6. Rules for thee, not for me. Well, Michigan, you asked for it. Hope you’re smarter when you hire your next governor.

  7. Always talking about death threats. Don’t most politicians get death threats? She’s a pig with lipstick. Love all her faux leather!

  8. Elections will have consequences, even for those that think they are invincible. What will her future hold? What rhymes with Gretch and starts with W?

  9. Why is the governor not being held accountable for the same lockdowns as all of the citizens of the state of Michigan she has set for us to follow? She should be jailed for the things she has done to the people of Michigan.

  10. Governor Whitmer is a complete disgrace to the citizens of Michigan! She is a lying liberal fraud.
    I hope she is recalled. And her handling of the COVID crisis in Michigan was/is disastrous to say the least and getting an award for that is complete insanity! Not to mention her superiority complex that makes her think she can travel during COVID, but forbids Michigan residents from doing so. I am a Michigan resident and can say truthfully she has not been good for Michigan at all! I pray she is not our governor for long!
    God bless America and Michigan 🇺🇸🇺🇸🙏🙏

  11. When will everyone realize that Dems/commies can’t commit hypocrisy. Hypocrisy can only be committed if an honest media holds them too it. Since there isn’t an honest media in this country that will hold dems to their hypocrisy there can be no hypocrisy so we conservatives should stop using that as a gotcha, it just doesn’t work. Against Republicans yes, Dems no!

    1. The Media/Government/Legal System Amalgamation have successfully rounded up a disparate electorate consisting of women, blacks, homosexuals, illegal aliens, dead people and house pets who’ll default to government/court solutions to advance their Marxist Ideology. (The lawyers, with able media assistance, also clean up with the litigation that occurs when their ‘clients’ are harmed, or discriminated against.) As sheep-like as these people are, they should at least view the topics of these articles to determine why they shouldn’t vote for liberals.

  12. “We don’t discuss…” But Reporters and Dems constantly badgered Trump to “discuss” every little, minor thing. She claims she had death threats. Wow. Trump had every threat against him including death threats. He was open and transparent.

  13. Witchmer – they always miss-spell her name…. She is Witchmer! She is casting a spell on the people in my great state of Michigan from which we may never recover.

    Notice the people getting rewards are those who sent COVID sick elderly to nursing homes to infect others and then prevent children and grand-children from seeing them…. Cuomo, Witchmer, and who else? No reward or even favorable note for DeSantis….

    Witchmer and her crew MUST GO!!!!

  14. “The trips were taken so that the governor might visit her elderly father at the same time she was discouraging Michigan residents to stay in their homes and while hospital safety precautions kept people from visiting elderly relatives hospitalized because of the virus”

    True: A member of our church congregation had a father in the local nursing home. She was not allowed to visit, except through the glass of his window. She was not even allowed in when he was dying, yet Governor “Ice Queen” Whitmer took advantage of Florida’s more open policies to visit her father.

    There is a special level in hell reserved for people who behave this way.

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