Michael Gunner, Northern Territories Chief Minister: "If you are anti-mandate, ... stuff it, shove it!"

Gunner Goes Viral

Today, we take a quick look back to 2021, when every public official in the world seemingly lost their minds. A news conference with Northern Territories Chief Minister, Michael Gunner, went viral in November 2021, when he declared:

If you are anti-mandate, you are absolutely anti-vax . . . if you are out there in any way, shape, or form campaigning against this mandate, you are absolutely anti-vax. If you say “pro-persuasion,” stuff it, shove it!

Gunner was broadly derided for these comments, and for his comical resemblance to Adolph Hitler.

Tears Up Over Backlash

In a press conference given a few weeks later, a tearful Gunner complained about the death threats he and his family had received in response to his “stuff it, shove it” comments.

In January 2022, even as Omicron continued to infect vaccinated and unvaccinated alike, Gunner announced new lockdown rules for the unvaccinated. There were only three reasons the unvaccinated could leave their home; work was not one of them, and neither was exercise.

"We are dealing with people who unfortunately have gone down a rabbit hole," Gunner said. "The delusion that they're buying into is extraordinary.” As so often, it was public officials who had “gone down a rabbit hole” and bought into the delusion that the COVID vaccines could stop transmission and end the pandemic.