Michigan Gov. Explains Hubby's Controversial Boat Request

Gretchen Whitmer says it was a 'failed attempt at humor'
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 27, 2020 2:36 AM CDT
Michigan Gov.: Husband's Boat Request Was a (Bad) Joke
In this Feb. 12, 2019, file photo, Marc Mallory, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's husband, reacts, as she delivers her State of the State address to a joint session of the House and Senate, in Lansing, Mich.   (AP Photo/Al Goldis, File)

Oh, to be a fly on the wall of the Michigan Governor's Mansion. Gretchen Whitmer responded Tuesday to reports that her husband, Marc Mallory, dropped her name when attempting to get his boat in the water prior to Memorial Day weekend (as his wife simultaneously cautioned state residents against congregating at popular vacation spots). "My husband made a failed attempt at humor last week when checking in with the small business that helps with our boat and dock up north," Whitmer said in a statement cited by NBC News. "Knowing it wouldn't make a difference, he jokingly asked if being married to me might move them up in the queue. He thought it might get a laugh. It didn't. And to be honest, I wasn't laughing, either, when it was relayed to me, because I knew how it would be perceived."

"He regrets it," she continued. "I wish it wouldn't have happened, and that's really all we have to say about it." Fox News notes her office had initially pushed back against the story. Whitmer has come under fire for Michigan's stay-home order, one of the strictest to be issued during the COVID-19 pandemic. She refuted reports that she and her family spent the holiday weekend at their vacation home, though she noted, "My husband did go up to our place in Antrim County and raked some leaves and came home, so he was there. We did not all pile in the car to go enjoy our second home, although that would have been permitted if we had," since she has relaxed restrictions on in-state travel. Meanwhile, the owner of the dock company, who originally revealed Mallory's comment, has since deleted not just his post but the company's entire Facebook page. (More Gretchen Whitmer stories.)

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