Michigan Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer faced intense backlash on Monday evening after she compared protests against her overreaching measures restricting the rights of residents in her state to people’s attitudes during World War II.

Whitmer, who recently was considered a rising star in the Democrat Party and was being considered as a potential VP pick for Joe Biden, is seeing her popularity plummet as residents in her state are not happy with the extreme measures that she has instituted. The growing movement against Whitmer comes as she is struggling to effectively manage a state with one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the U.S.

In response to the outbreak, Whitmer has aggressively expanded her control over her residents’ lives. The Wall Street Journal reported:

Michigan now bans lawn and landscaping services, motor boating and golf. Large stores can’t sell paint, furniture or garden equipment. People aren’t allowed to travel between residences, which blocks them from visiting second homes and hunting cabins. Long-distance drives that don’t meet a “critical” need, according to the governor’s definition, are prohibited.

Whitmer’s clampdown over the rights of residents in her state have led to protests against her, and an online petition has gained hundreds of thousands of signatures to have her recalled as the state’s governor.

Whitmer sought to deflect heat off of her during a press conference on Monday, comparing the coronavirus outbreak to fighting in World War II.

“In World War II, there weren’t people lining up at the Capitol to protest the fact that they had to drop everything they were doing, and build planes, or tanks, or to ration food,” Whitmer said. “They rolled up their sleeves, and they got to work.”

To say that Whitmer’s words were not well received online would be a major understatement as the overwhelming majority of comments were negative.

Columnist Kurt Schlichter wrote: “In World War II Michigan didn’t have a dizzy fascist as the governor”

In World War II Michigan didn’t have a dizzy fascist as the governor https://t.co/5za5tdYRsU — Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) April 21, 2020

Writer Daniel Horowitz wrote: “Yeah, they were actually building stuff.”

Yeah, they were actually building stuff. https://t.co/QjErKu9Y7k — Daniel Horowitz (@RMConservative) April 21, 2020

Political commentator John Hawkins wrote: “They were fighting against people then that wanted to destroy their livelihoods, take their freedom and keep them imprisoned. Now, the person that wants to do that is their own governor.”

They were fighting against people then that wanted to destroy their livelihoods, take their freedom and keep them imprisoned. Now, the person that wants to do that is their own governor. https://t.co/lGjcu1Iq5t — John Hawkins (@johnhawkinsrwn) April 21, 2020

Writer Mike Bastasch wrote: “She of course isn’t mentioning that World War 2 saw a massive industrial boom that’s credited with lifting us out of the depression… as opposed to today where governors, like her, are forcing people out of work.”

She of course isn't mentioning that World War 2 saw a massive industrial boom that's credited with lifting us out of the depression… as opposed to today where governors, like her, are forcing people out of work. https://t.co/8h7TvMTqcG — Mike Bastasch (@MikeBastasch) April 21, 2020

Fox News host Laura Ingraham mocked Whitmer, tweeting, “Michigan’s finest.”

Commentary Editor Noah Rothman wrote: “Presumably, this is a critique of her state’s citizens, but it could just as easily be a struggle session. That sound is the VP buzz evaporating into a profoundly disquieting silence.”

That sound is the VP buzz evaporating into a profoundly disquieting silence. — Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) April 21, 2020

Matthew Tyrmand wrote: “#KarenWhitmer is truly a stupid woman for expositing such a false equivalence with such a straight face. She might even make #DementiaJoe look on the ball 😂”

#KarenWhitmer is truly a stupid woman for expositing such a false equivalence with such a straight face. She might even make #DementiaJoe look on the ball 😂 https://t.co/EKkZZRuu9l — Matthew Tyrmand (@MatthewTyrmand) April 21, 2020

Lawyer Robert Barnes wrote: “Just waiting for the Governor to cite how wonderful an example the Japanese internment camps were for the Japanese during World War 2, because what she has done to Michigan is just as serious.”