CNN "State of the Union" - Transcript: Interview With Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

Interview

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TAPPER: With the city of Detroit an emerging coronavirus hot spot, President Trump approved Michigan's disaster declaration, but not before taking a few shots at Michigan's Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Democrat, who joins me now from Michigan.

Governor, President Trump approved the major disaster declaration for your state on Friday. Yesterday, you tweeted that your state had received more than 100,000 masks from the national stockpile, and you expected to receive 8,000 more.

You have been critical of the administration's response and help from Michigan so far. Are you now finally getting what you need from the federal government?

GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER (D-MI): Well, we're relieved, frankly; 112,000 masks yesterday morning means we're going to make it through the weekend.

We have got a lot of hospitals that are already at capacity. We had 1,000 new cases yesterday. We know that number is going to be even higher today.

We are working all angles. So, we're grateful for FEMA. We're grateful for the vice president. He and I chatted yesterday. We have got -- we know that they're working 24/7. We are, as a state, trying to procure everything else that we can to meet the needs of the people of our state and asking our residents to chip in as well, if they can -- if a business, a manufacturer has N95 masks, to just take them over to the local hospital.

We have got distilleries that are making hand sanitizer. So, I mean, it's got to be all hands on deck. We're not one another's -- we shouldn't be fighting one another. We need to be fighting COVID-19 together.

TAPPER: Governor, President Trump's been going after you personally, saying that you don't appreciate the job that the federal government has done for Michigan.

He said, on Friday, this:

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TRUMP: When they're not appreciative to me, they're not appreciative to the Army Corps, they're not appreciative to FEMA, it's not right.

I say, Mike, don't call the governor of Washington. You're wasting your time with him. Don't call the woman in Michigan.

You know what I say? If they don't treat you right, I don't call.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Your response, Governor?

WHITMER: You know, I don't have energy to respond to every slight.

I -- what I'm trying to do is work well with the federal government. And I will tell you this. There are people from the White House on down who are working 24/7, just like we are at the states.

We're all stressed, because we have people that are dying right now. I need assistance and I need partnership.

[09:40:05]

And so that's what we're starting to see out of the feds. We're grateful for it. But there's so much more work to do.

Detroit is the -- the dire situation in Detroit is getting worse by the minute. And so all of our energy really needs to be focused on getting PPE to the people of our country.

But, right, now in Michigan, we are in need. And I need all the help we can get.

TAPPER: You said on Friday that -- quote -- "Vendors with whom we had contracts are now being told not to send stuff here to Michigan, and we're instead working with the federal government."

Two Michigan state lawmakers are now seeking to help you -- quote -- "remove any and all roadblocks" you might be facing with those vendors. But they say you haven't released the names.

Can you tell us the names of these vendors and what exactly is going wrong there?

WHITMER: So, I think people are trying to make this into a different story than what it.

The story in Michigan is the same as Massachusetts, the same as New York, the same as Illinois and Minnesota.

We, the states, are trying to actively get every piece of PPE that we can. We're bidding against one another. And, in some cases, the federal government is taking priority.

We have had contracts that were in place that were set aside or were delayed or were canceled altogether because the goods that we had contracted for are going to the federal government. And it's a source of frustration not unique to Michigan, but it's a unique situation that we have in our country right now.

And it's really, I think, creating a lot more problems for all of us. And that's what I was -- that's what I was talking about.

My role is not to out vendors, because I think that they're concerned about retribution and potential problems for them later. My role is to get every personal protection equipment, every piece I can get, into the state of Michigan.

We have nurses wearing the same mask from the beginning of their shift until the end, masks that are supposed to be for one patient and one -- one point in your shift.

We need some assistance. And we're going to need thousands of ventilators. And so my point that I was making is that we're doing everything we can to get the kind of help that we need. We're getting help from the federal government.

But these -- these other pressure points are real, and there are a lot of lives at stake.

TAPPER: Right, a lot of the cities and states competing against each other, bidding against each other for these direly needed supplies.

The surgeon general said on Friday that this coming week is going to be worse than last week, especially for cities such as Detroit.

WHITMER: Yes. TAPPER: Your state's chief medical executive told CNN Friday that,

when it comes to coronavirus cases -- quote -- "We think we're still on the aggressive upslope," and that you still have several weeks until you hit the peak.

You added almost 1,000 cases yesterday alone. How long can your health system survive this and hold up without being so inundated with patients, you face -- your doctors face the kinds of choices that nobody ever wants to face?

WHITMER: I know.

It's heart -- it's gut-wrenching, Jake. We knew that it was a matter of time, not a question of if, COVID-19 would come to Michigan. And that's why we have been on the front end of taking aggressive steps.

Part of the job is to make sure that people understand why the stay- at-home order is so important. This is a novel virus. There's no cure, there's no vaccine. We don't have enough of the equipment that our nurses and doctors need.

And so the best thing that we can do is slow the spread. That means staying home. The virus can't go from me to you if we're not together. And that's really the most important thing that we're always trying to educate the people of our state.

And I know my fellow governors across the country are doing the same. We need to slow the spread, so that our hospitals have a fighting shot at treating people.

TAPPER: Right.

WHITMER: We have got a number of hospitals that are already at capacity. We're going to see this number continue to climb, because even though the order has been in place, it's going to take a while before we see the benefit of it.

And so we're asking everyone to do their part, to stay home and stay safe and save lives and support our health care system to meet the needs of the people that are in such dire straits.

TAPPER: Governor Whitmer of Michigan, our thoughts and prayers are with the people of your great state. Thank you so much.

Stay in touch if you need anything that we can help bring attention to.

WHITMER: Thank you.

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