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The Democratic Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, has been the focus of Twitter attacks from President Donald Trump after she implored the federal government to step in and help facilitate the distribution of lifesaving medical equipment used to treat the virus.
Despite the vitriol Trump directed at her from Twitter and the podium, Whitmer has repeatedly told the President that she doesn't want to pick a political fight, but save as many of her constituents' lives as possible.
Now, at Trump's demand, Whitmer has become the target of not only Donald Trump, but his sycophants like Senator Ted Cruz (R) of Texas.
Cruz tried to call out Whitmer for failing to socially distance while signing a bill imposing fines for the same offense.
But like all too many Republican talking points, it amounted to little more than fake news—and Governor Whitmer was sure to point that out.
@tedcruz Hello Senator! This photo is from January of 2019, and is being misused to spread fear and anger. I know y… https://t.co/goDjUf4LRK— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@Governor Gretchen Whitmer) 1586747649.0
In reality, the photo was from early last year, months before the first case of the virus had even developed. The local news station was running a series of photos and videos to accompany the story.
Cruz deleted the tweet, but not quickly enough.
Hey @tedcruz ....we can still see this. 🤷🏼♀️ https://t.co/0BMwhvv1dy— Dontmindme (@Dontmindme) 1586789164.0
That woman from Michigan droppin’ the mic https://t.co/d2DbEkUONv— Sarah Harless (@Sarah Harless) 1586748574.0
Governor Whitmer just snatched Ted Cruz’s wig and it’s the Easter surprise I didn’t know l needed. He deleted the t… https://t.co/E7RaADZKRr— Miss Aja (@Miss Aja) 1586751869.0
So now we can add @tedcruz to the list of people who owe an apology to our Governor. But apparently instead of apo… https://t.co/azuiwKtna4— Tony Postma (@Tony Postma) 1586782637.0
It took 5 minutes for the man to step down, her power https://t.co/8VZAjTB2dO— Mitchell Campbell (@Mitchell Campbell) 1586748012.0
Maybe you should check your sources, the next time you are triggered, eh @SenTedCruz? Lol So mediocre... So patheti… https://t.co/pMT2Wz9EBy— Boss Tweeter (@Boss Tweeter) 1586775123.0
People hailed Whitmer for killing Cruz with a kindness for which the Midwest is famous.
God I love midwestern passive aggressiveness https://t.co/DR89wnzn98— maybe: gilly (@maybe: gilly) 1586787650.0
Midwest polite and come at you with facts and evidence. *chefs kiss* https://t.co/rGVcUadPVO— Bex (@Bex) 1586791809.0
Drag him with kindness. https://t.co/6xZqvYLVqz— Relentlessly Hasan (@Relentlessly Hasan) 1586748436.0
The original source of the tweet, Andrew Malcolm, acknowledged the error.
Back after observing the holiday: A number of ppl have noted WXYZ ran an old foto of a Mich gov signing abv a chyro… https://t.co/bF0OjkYAML— Andrew Malcolm (@Andrew Malcolm) 1586751243.0
Malcolm, however, hasn't deleted the original false tweet, which has now been retweeted nearly 4,000 times. The correction has been retweeted a paltry 24 times.
And that's how fake news spreads.
For a deeper look into Republican misinformation, check out The Republican Noise Machine, available here.