Coronavirus US Response: More Michigan Residents Prefer Whitmer’s Handling Of Crisis To Trump's

A statewide poll released by the Detroit Regional Chamber on Monday showed that 57% of Michigan residents approved of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s handling of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, with only 44% of respondents saying they approved of Trump’s response. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4% and surveyed 600 residents from April 15 to 16.

The survey revealed that 37% of Michiganders disapproved of Whitmer’s response, with 50% saying they disapproved of Trump’s handling of the crisis.

Party membership influenced how people felt about the response, with 89% of Democrats saying they approved of Whitmer’s response to the virus. Only 22% of Republicans supported Whitmer’s response, but 56% of independent voters backed the governor’s policies.

The survey revealed that 88% of Republicans supported Trump’s response to the crisis, while just 6% of Democrats support Trump's response. Forty percent of independents supported Trump’s handling of the outbreak.

On Wednesday, protesters gathered in the state capital of Lansing after Whitmer extended the state’s stay-at-home order through the end of April. Whitmer’s critics claim her response has been too extreme, with fines of $1,000 given for violating the stay-at-home order.

Trump last week threw his support behind the demonstrators, posting on Twitter: “Liberate Michigan!” Trump had also made similar tweets for Virginia and Minnesota — two swing states with Democratic governors. Whitmer is also a Democrat, and Trump has frequently feuded with her, referring to her as “that woman from Michigan.”

Whitmer has stood behind the order, and offered words of consolation to Michiganders.

“We are living in a difficult time, & the unknown is scary,” she tweeted on April 11. “But I do know that we must remain steady. We can’t allow fear or panic to guide us. The lives of Michiganders are at stake. We must stay the course to save lives. Stay steady. We’re going to get through this together.”

As of Monday at 3:45 p.m., there are 30,817 cases of the coronavirus in Michigan, with the state’s death toll standing at 2,374.