Michigan Governor Admits Some COVID-19 Restrictions Didn’t ‘Make a Lot of Sense’

In April 2020, Whitmer issued an executive order that barred most stores from selling gardening supplies, including seeds and plants, to Americans growing their own fruits and vegetables.

In a sit-down with CNN’s Chris Wallace on March 12, Whitmer was asked about Michigan’s tough lockdown policies, which were some of the nation’s most strict.

“There were moments where, you know, we had to make some decisions that in retrospect don’t make a lot of sense, right? If you went to the hardware store, you could go to the hardware store but we didn’t want people to be congregating around the garden supplies,” Whitmer said.

“People said ‘oh, she’s outlawed seeds.’ It was February in Michigan, no one was planting anyway,” she continued. “But that being said, some of those policies I look back and think, you know, maybe that was a little more than what we needed to do.”

On April 9, 2020, Whitmer’s office published a list on the state’s website that included items Michigan officials deemed “not necessary to sustain or protect life,” and thus could not be sold during the height of the pandemic.