ELK RAPIDS, Mich. (AP)/(WXYZ) — The owner of a boat service company said the husband of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer dropped her name while pleading to get his boat in the water for Memorial Day weekend.
The Detroit News says NorthShore Dock owner Tad Dowker reported it on Facebook but subsequently removed the posts.
Dowker said his staff took a call from Marc Mallory, the husband of Whitmer. Dowker's staff explained that they were backed up and couldn't immediately launch the boat.
Whitmer spokeswoman Tiffany Brown said she won't address family matters.
The governor has lifted restrictions on Michigan residents traveling to second homes or taking a road trip. But Whitmer doesn’t encourage it, saying the coronavirus is highly contagious.
During her news conference today, Whitmer called the phone call "a failed attempt at humor," saying he jokingly asked if being married to her would "get him moved up in the queue."
"I wasn’t laughing either when it was relayed to me, and I knew how it would be perceived," Whitmer said.
She said he regrets it and so does she, saying, "I wish it wouldn't have happened."