Former Michigan governor on protests: The ‘selfishness must stop’

Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) on Saturday called the people in Michigan who protested Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) extended stay-at-home order earlier in the week amid the COVID-19 pandemic selfish.

“They were putting people at risk. That selfishness must stop,” Granholm, now a CNN contributor, said on the network.

She added, “They have freedom, but other people have freedom to live — or should. And they shouldn’t be inflicting or putting others at risk.”

Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm on protesters demonstrating against stay-at-home orders: “That selfishness must stop … They have freedom, but other people have freedom to live, or should. And they shouldn’t be inflicting or putting others at risk.” https://t.co/qidysqa98R pic.twitter.com/r76RP2Pvc4

— CNN (@CNN) April 18, 2020

On Wednesday, protesters surrounded the Michigan Capitol in Lansing and demanded an end to the stay-at-home order, claiming the measure was infringing on their personal liberties.

Whitmer, in response, said that kind of behavior can lead to a resurgence of the virus that has killed more than 37,000 people in the U.S.

“The thing that I’m concerned most about, and that I think my fellow governors are as well, is a resurgence,” Whitmer said.

“When you see a political rally — that’s what it was yesterday — a political rally where people aren’t wearing masks and they’re in close quarters and they’re touching one another, you know that that’s precisely what makes this kind of disease drag out and expose more people,” she added.

Michigan, as of Saturday, has nearly 30,000 confirmed cases of the disease and more than 2,200 deaths, according to data compiled by The New York Times.