Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday took aim at former President Donald Trump during a Labor Day event for Vice President Kamala Harris, though her own pandemic policies undermine the message.

“Trump’s policies speak for themselves, but what it really comes down to is this,” Whitmer said in a video of her remarks posted to X. “This guy just doesn’t get you or your life at all. I don’t think he could tell us what the difference is between a flat head and a Philips head screwdriver, you know what I’m saying?”

Gov. @gretchenwhitmer: Trump just doesn't get you or your life at all. You think he’s ever swung a hammer or used a power tool in his life? Oh hell no. You think he’s ever scanned a coupon at the store to save money? He has never struggled pic.twitter.com/75tQMqVUFd

— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) September 2, 2024

Go Ad-Free, Get Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial

She added: “Do you think he’s ever swung a hammer or used a power tool in his life? Oh, hell no. Do you think he’s ever scanned a coupon at the store to save money as he’s checking out? You think he ever sat down with a number of family bills, knowing he could only afford to pay some of them?” Whitmer said, before doubling down: “He’s never struggled, he doesn’t know what the average person’s life is like in this country. And he’ll say whatever it takes to get himself elected. Here in Michigan, though, we always stand up for our union brothers and sisters.”

It was a different story during the pandemic, when Whitmer was among just four governors nationwide to declare construction workers “nonessential” – a move that forced most out of work and some to neighboring states to earn a living.

Crain’s Detroit Business noted in April 2020 that all states bordering Michigan considered construction an essential service, while Whitmer’s pandemic edicts forbid all construction with few exceptions.

Go Ad-Free, Get Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial

The decision, which lacked any bearing in science, stalled $1.82 billion in projects across the state, from sidewalks and libraries, to manufacturing facilities, to playgrounds, according to Construct Connect, a Cincinnati firm that tracks construction trends.

For weeks, contractors begged the Whitmer administration to allow them back to work.

“(Associated General Contractors of America) and others worked with the governor’s office leading up to this to explain that construction work has built-in social distancing protections and workers utilize PPEs (personal protection equipment) on the job,” Damian Hill, president of AGC of Michigan, told Crain’s at the time.

“Our executive order was one of the first, so there were not a lot of others out there to use as guidance,” Hill said. “I have not reviewed every state’s stay-in-place or stay-at-home executive orders in detail, but I suspect that there are some states that have similar language to Michigan’s executive order but it is still being considered an exemption.”

Confusion over which construction activities were banned and which were exempted resulted in police shutting down some construction sites, and forced contractors to seek clarification from the governor.

While Michiganders struggled to work, their counterparts in states with higher rates of COVID, including New Jersey, Louisiana and others, continued to safely work and collect a paycheck.

Whitmer’s comments on Monday detailing how Michiganders are struggling to pay their bills will resonate with many, as many more are now living paycheck to paycheck than when Whitmer took office in 2019.

At the time, under President Trump, the number of Michiganders who could not afford a “survival budget” was just beginning to wane for the first time since the Great Recession.

By 2022, the number of Michigan households overall had increased by 2%, while the percentage of them struggling to survive had increased by 13%, according to a United for ALICE report.

Statewide, 41% can’t afford basics like food, housing, child care, and transportation, despite many working full time. In 11 counties, the percentage is more than half, while in the state’s largest cities it’s over 70%.

“Our latest estimates from 2022 – the entry of 100,000 additional households below the ALICE threshold while our state’s population has declined – must be received as both a call to action and a challenge to complacency,” the ALICE report read.

Plenty of reports have also detailed other aspects of Michigan’s decline under Whitmer and her Democratic allies that control the legislature.

Third-grade reading proficiency has reached a record low, auto insurance rates are the highest in the nation, Michigan is ranked 47^th among states for quality of life, roads are crumbling faster than agencies can fix them – costing motorists $17 billion a year, and residents of the Great Lakes State are considered the “most financially distressed people in the country.”