Whitmer faults Trump for fighting other Americans more than virus

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) faulted President Trump for fighting “his fellow Americans” more than the coronavirus during her speech at the Democratic National Convention.

The Michigan governor called out the president for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic during the convention held virtually because of COVID-19. 

“We’ve learned who is essential … not just the wealthiest among us. Not the president who fights his fellow Americans rather than fight the virus that’s killing us and our economy,” she said.

“It’s the people who put their own health at risk to care for the rest of us. They are the MVPs,” she added, naming nurses, doctors, utility workers, grocery clerks, auto workers and mail carriers among others. 

Whitmer pointed to a statistic that almost 1,000 health care workers in the U.S. have died from COVID-19. Across the U.S., the death toll surpassed 170,000 people on Monday. 

“Generation after generation our nation has been defined by what we do or by what we fail to do, so … in the memory of all those we’ve lost, let us act,” she said. “Let us heal as one nation. Let us find strength to do the work.”

The Michigan governor took an indirect jab at the president by saying that presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) “will lead by example.”

“Science, not politics or ego, will drive their decisions. They know: The health of our people goes hand-in-hand with the strength of our economy.”

She also condemned the White House for offering “too little help” for her state as it struggled with the pandemic, saying despite that “we saved thousands of lives.”

“Just imagine if we had a national strategy,” she said.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer addresses the DNC: “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will lead by example. It will be science, not politics or ego that will drive their decisions. They know the health of our people goes hand in hand with the strength of our economy” pic.twitter.com/Req8T0x9x6

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) August 18, 2020

The U.S. has confirmed more than 5.4 million cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.