Lansing — The CEO of an international tech company contends a viral clip of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer “appears” to have been manipulated, but the person who recorded the video at the groundbreaking for a data center says that’s not the case.
The dispute dates back to the June 1 celebration of plans for a 1.65 million-square-foot data center development in Saline Township. The project involves tech giants Oracle and OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT.
After the event, a video began circulating online showing Whitmer, a Democrat, talking with Clay Magouyrk, the CEO of Oracle. People who spread the footage said it featured Whitmer stating, “We’re used to people saying f*** no and doing it anyway.”
Hundreds of thousands of people had viewed the clip on the platform X as of Monday. Some individuals suggested the alleged remark was a sign of the state government’s disregard for public opposition to data centers.
But Stacey LaRouche, a spokeswoman for Whitmer, took issue with the claims Monday.
“Gov. Whitmer did not make that statement, and it’s not a statement that she would support,” LaRouche said.
”We’ve heard from Michiganders that it is extremely important for our state to have a strong framework in place to protect Michiganders and communities where data centers want to locate,” LaRouche added. “Michigan requires companies to pay their own way, prohibits them from passing costs onto ratepayers, protects our water, and holds them accountable for creating good-paying jobs. We are encouraged by conversations in the Legislature to ensure Michigan continues to have the strongest protections in the country.”
Michigan Information & Research Service, a Lansing newsletter, first reported LaRouche’s comments.
In his own statement, Magouyrk said he had a positive conversation with Whitmer about the Saline Township project.
“The video circulating online does not accurately reflect the substance or tone of that conversation, and the audio appears to have been manipulated,” Magouyrk added.
However, Priscilla Creswell, a Washtenaw County-based videographer who said she recorded the video clip at the groundbreaking, denied Monday that the audio had been manipulated.
In an interview, Creswell said she discovered the comment after the event and had colleagues listen to it to see if they heard Whitmer making the same statement that she thought the governor did.
Creswell said she didn’t believe Whitmer used a vulgarity, but thought the governor said, “We’re used to people saying no and doing it anyways.”
“I guarantee that the clip was not manipulated, and the audio was not manipulated,” Creswell told The Detroit News.
She provided an extended, four-minute copy of the video to The News. It showed Whitmer making a similar comment to what Creswell said the governor had made and Magouyrk laughing, though most of Whitmer and Magouyrk’s conversation is inaudible.
“Anyone that can live through a winter like you do,” Magouyrk can be heard saying in response to Whitmer’s comment.
Creswell said she hopes others who were at the groundbreaking recording the exchange between Whitmer and Magouyrk will release their own audio or video to provide more insight into the exchange between Whitmer and the Oracle chief executive.
She declined to say who she was working for at the invitation-only event.
Some people are frustrated, Creswell said, because they feel Whitmer’s comment represents how the state of Michigan has been operating.
“These are our neighborhoods, and we should trust that we have a say in cultivating their future,” Creswell said.
In December, the Michigan Public Service Commission, a three-person panel appointed by Whitmer, approved a pair of contracts between DTE Energy Co. and a subsidiary of Oracle Corp., which marked a crucial step for the massive data center being constructed in Saline Township.
cmauger@detroitnews.com
Staff Writer Carol Thompson contributed.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Oracle CEO claims viral Whitmer video ‘manipulated.’ Videographer denies it
Reporting by Craig Mauger, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Craig Mauger, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
