Thursday on MSNBC, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) spoke out against the “reopen” protests in her state and claimed they could prolong the state’s shutdown.

Whitmer argued her actions were justified in that her state’s the tenth-most populous but had the third-highest death rate.

“The good part of the story that is hard to focus on, but that I always want to point out, is that the vast majority of people in Michigan are doing their part. We have seen the stay home order impact the number of cases that we have. You know, we had to take more aggressive steps than other states because even though we’ve got the tenth largest population in this country, we have the third-highest death rate. We have a uniquely tough problem and it requires a uniquely tough solution. And that’s what we’ve done. And certainly, there are people who are dissenting my orders, just like there are people dissenting orders in Indiana, Ohio, Colorado, all across the country. That’s OK. I respect people’s ability and right to dissent.”

“But what we need to make sure every one of us does is observe the CDC best practices so we are not unwittingly spreading COVID-19,” Whitmer continued. “The worst irony that could come about from these demonstrations is that they force us to stay in this posture longer than — longer than we’re already planning to. It’s the last thing any of us wants. I can tell you with all confidence that every governor in this country is eager to figure out when we can reopen or re-engage our economies. And yet some of us are going to stay focused on the science so we make sure we do it in the safest manner.”

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