Michigan Gov Gretchen Whitmer (D) said that her decision to begin to lift the stay-at-home orders and lockdown conditions on the basis of public health professionals and not politics and angry tweets.

Michigan has been the site of protesters gathering–some armed, and some hoisting Confederate flags and swastikas–to object to the orders Whitmer has in place to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19. Whitmer extended her order through May 28.

Donald Trump fomented the protesters in Michigan and in other states via Twitter, telling them to “liberate” their states.

In Michigan, nearly 3,800 people have died of the virus, with more than 41,000 confirmed cases.

“You know we know that people are not all happy about having to take the stay-at-home posture and you know what, I’m not either,” Whitmer said. “The fact of the matter is we have to listen to epidemiologist and public health experts.

“Displays like the one we saw at the State Capitol are not representative of who we are. There are swastikas, confederate flags, nooses, people with assault rifles. That’s a small group of people,” she added. “When you think about the fact that this is a state of almost 10 million people, the vast majority of whom are doing the right thing. That’s why we’ve seen our curve get pushed down, we’ve saved lives in the process.

“We have to keep listening to the epidemiologists and experts and not listen to the partisan rhetoric, or these political rallies or tweets, for that matter. We have to keep doing the next right thing,” Whitmer said.

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