"The View" co-host Meghan McCain pushed right-wing smears against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer after the Michigan governor's audio cut out.
The governor and all four "View" panelists took part in a discussion from remote locations due to coronavirus concerns, and McCain picked up where she left off before a commercial break to challenge Whitmer's authority in the face of armed demonstrations.
"Some of the orders that you put into place were that you couldn't fish and you couldn't buy seeds to garden," McCain said, repeating popular -- but inaccurate -- attacks against the governor's stay-at-home orders.
Whitmer's April 9 executive order requires larger retailers to close off areas that sell carpeting, flooring, furniture and paint, as well as garden centers and plant nurseries, to limit the number of customers, but did not ban the sale of seeds or plants.
The governor's March 24 order shut down boat marinas and canoe liveries as non-essential, which was consistent with President Donald Trump's guidelines, and prohibited jet skis and motorboats.
"Michigan saw the largest drop in percent of people staying at home last week despite the stringent stay-at-home orders staying in effect," McCain said. "A lot of states have relaxed restrictions. Do you think your being too restrictive os having the opposite effect in your state, and can you blame people with the numbers of people starting to defy you?"
Whitmer apparently did not hear McCain's question, and host Whoopi Goldberg scrambled to keep the segment going while engineers worked behind the scenes to re-establish the dropped connection.
"I'm wondering whether, you know, she's going to consider given how she's described a lot of the folks that were at the State Capitol, whether she would describe them as potential domestic terrorists because you describe wanting to instill fear and intimidation," Goldberg said. "I wonder what you guys think about that."
McCain fielded the question and appeared to take the side of armed demonstrators who are planning another protest Thursday as their sympathizers threaten Whitmer's assassination.
"Well, I think the question here goes beyond the protesters," she said. "I'm sorry, I think the question is she put in orders that were controversial, and I think there were things like you couldn't go in a boat to fish on a lake and you can't buy seeds to garden, and I have an exchange with the governor over Easter, and I'm happy to continue talking. Her satellite is just out."
"If you have these kind of numbers of people that are deciding to come out in larger numbers of states that are being less restrictive, will Americans live under this kind of order?" McCain added. "That's the question I have, and it hasn't been as successful as the state has been claiming."
Whitmer's audio connection was eventually re-established, and she followed up on McCain's question in the next segment.
"So we have had this uniquely tough challenge with COVID-19," Whitmer said. "It took uniquely a tough stance to be aggressive and to combat the spread, and we have had a lot of success because of it. Now the question, have we been too restrictive? The numbers will show that what we have done is working. We are in the midst of reengaging and have a six-phase plan for re-engaging. We're now on the third phase where manufacturing has started this week. Suppliers are starting to phase in and the 'Big Three' [auto manufacturers] will start their phase next week."
"We're making progress," the governor added. "No one is more eager than I to start the engagement of the economy and see it through. We can move phase to phase and keep going forward. That means still observing social distancing, wearing the mask, washing your hands more frequently, not having crowds gather, and we've got to grit our teeth and keep doing the work because it's paying off."
