Gretchen Whitmer confronted on 'weird' COVID restrictions, says she did her best with poor information

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., was confronted on COVID-19 restrictions in Michigan during a conversation on Caleb Hammer's "Financial Audit" show as the pair discussed the state's finances.

"I was a little annoyed when I came home for Christmas two years in a row. Like we had to eat outside, but we were in inside pods outside. It was a little weird, then I came back here, and then I could just do whatever," Hammer told Whitmer.

Hammer, who has more than 2.6 million subscribers on YouTube, has blunt conversations with guests about their finances on "Financial Audit," and Whitmer was his first political guest, according to his social media. Hammer has invited other governors and federal officials to come on the show as well.

Whitmer agreed and said it was weird, and added, "Remember what the temperature was. Here [in Texas], you can walk around outside all day, right? But at home, in Michigan, in the winter, we're all inside breathing on each other."

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) answers questions after speaking on the theme "Build, America, Build!" on April 09, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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"But if I was allowed to be inside outside, why couldn't I just be inside inside?" Hammer asked.

Whitmer said that he was "inside outside" with just a small group of people, though Hammer added that he was around servers and busers as well.

"Listen, Caleb, none of us wants to go back and relive that. We were doing the best we could with very little or very bad information," Whitmer said.

The Michigan governor was criticized by Republicans for her lockdown policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The governor issued an apology in May 2021 after a photo showed her with a large group of people at The Landshark Bar & Grill, in East Lansing, Mich., in apparent violation of the state's COVID policies, as the state still required social distancing at restaurants, with no more than six people at tables, at the time.

Hammer asked Whitmer about some other policies as well, including cash bail, and the modern era of political extremism.

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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer attends the Clinton Global Initiative 2024 Annual Meeting at New York Hilton Midtown on September 24, 2024, in New York City. (John Nacion/Getty Images)

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"We know that people, individuals with three to ten violent crime convictions, represent only 0.9% of the total population, but account for almost 50% of violent crime. And those who have been released from prison, about 70%, were re-arrested within three years. [Are] these no-cash bail systems that, you know, we're tending to see in places like New York, New Jersey, Illinois, D.C., and we talked about Michigan, is that actually benefiting people, or are we just not keeping people safe like we want to?" Hammer asked.

Whitmer said, "I think that when it comes to the no-cash bail, what we see is a situation where people without resources pay a much bigger penalty than those that do."

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer looks on as President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on April 9, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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She said Michigan had a low recidivism rate, although she added there would always be an "egregious example" of someone who isn't part of the "general rule."

Whitmer is frequently touted as a possible presidential candidate, given she's won two terms as governor of a large swing state. In an interview last month, she hinted that she wouldn't run for the White House in 2028.