Governors on Covid-19 policies: ‘We were all trying to figure this thing out as we went’

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on Sunday defended their efforts during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, noting that they and their colleagues were both forced to improvise amid a unique crisis in American history.

"I think, if anyone is being honest as a leader in this moment, if we could go back in a time machine, with all of the knowledge we have accumulated, would we make some different decisions? Absolutely," said Whitmer, a Democrat, on CNN's "State of the Union." "The fact of the matter is, Covid-19 has been a novel virus, for which we have learned an incredible amount in the last 10, 12 months in this country. We have been nimble."

Hogan, a Republican, seconded her remarks.

"We were all trying to figure this thing out as we went," he said. "And we have all made very difficult decisions. And we continue to make very difficult decisions."

He added: "I would agree with Governor Whitmer. I'm sure, if you go back through the nine months and the hundreds of decisions we had to make quickly, that you might find some things you could improve."

Hogan also said that governors, on the front lines of the battle, came together better than those in Washington did.

"Unlike Washington," said Hogan, "where we see so much divisiveness and dysfunction, the governors didn't always agree, but we sure did try to come together and help one another throughout this crisis."

Almost 19 million cases of coronavirus have been diagnosed in the United States. The current death toll is 331,930, by far the highest in the world.

Both expressed hope that 2021 will be far better than this year.

“Every month of 2021 is going to get better than the last," Whitmer said. We will have a new administration sworn in at the end of January. They will be guided by science. They're going to work with states to make sure that our vaccine dissemination goes as smoothly as possible."

And Hogan made it clear he's happy to see 2020 come to an end.

"I think we'd all — all just thank God that 2020 is coming to a close," he said.