Whitmer mouths expletive in 'hot mic' moment before DNC convention speech

“I t’s not just Shark Week, it’s Shark Week, mother-----,” Whitmer is heard saying with a smile

CAN YOU HEAR A SMILE?

2020/8/18

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LANSING, Mich. — Social media was buzzing Monday over an apparent “hot mic” moment in which Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer mouthed an expletive just prior to her live speech to the Democratic National Convention.

Whitmer’s comments were not picked up on network TV broadcasts, but apparently were heard on a livestream feed.

“It’s not just Shark Week, it’s Shark Week, mother-----,” Whitmer is heard saying with a smile,to laughter from those in the room, as she waits to go live from a Lansing union hall, according to a video clip posted on Twitter by the online newsletter The Recount.

“I have learned about the hot mic,” she added, apparently ironically.

The tweet from The Recount was widely shared on Twitter, along with requests for “It’s Shark Week (expletive)” T-shirts from Whitmer supporters.

Whitmer based her 2018 campaign for governor around the slogan “Fix the Damn Roads.” Unlike the curse she used in her campaign, the expletive Whitmer appeared to mouth Monday could not be published in a family newspaper.

A Whitmer spokeswoman did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Shark Week, which wrapped up this weekend, is an annual summer event in which TV features hours of programming related to sharks.

Laura Cox, chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party, reacted to the apparent gaffe on Twitter Tuesday morning.

“Whitmer will do anything for press since she was flat and uninspiring,” Cox said.

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