Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has apologized for passing a Dorito chip to a social media influencer who fell to her knees after Roman Catholic organizations accused the Democratic politician of insulting their religion by making fun with the sacrament of communion.
“I would never do anything to disparage anyone’s faith,” Whitmer said Friday in a statement her office provided to Michigan TV news station WJBK.
She explained that the stunt in question – captured on video with popular TikTok content creator Liz Plank – was intended to promote legislation signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022, colloquially known as the Chips Act, which 280 billion dollars for semiconductor research and production. . But it was all “taken as something it was never intended to be, and for that I apologize,” she said.
In the video, Plank kneels in front of Whitmer, who then places a Dorito chip in the influencer’s mouth. The governor closes the scene by staring at the camera while wearing a hat in support of fellow Republican Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz in November’s presidential election.
The Michigan Catholic Conference — which has clashed with Whitmer over her support for abortion rights — joined other church groups in condemning the governor’s video featuring Plank.
A statement Friday from the conference’s CEO, Paul Long, accused Whitmer and Plank of “specifically imitating the posture and gestures of Catholics receiving the Eucharist.”
Long’s statement alluded to how Catholics believe the hosts used for the sacrament of Communion literally turn into the body of the crucified Jesus Christ, adding: “It is not just distasteful or ‘strange’ ; it is an all-too-common example of an elected official mocking religious individuals and their practices.”
Whitmer subsequently apologized and said she had taken the time to speak to the Michigan Catholic Conference.
People who WJBK described as “Democratic sources with knowledge of Whitmer’s participation in the video” also made a point of telling the station that the video was part of a viral social media challenge involving friends awkwardly appearing on camera were fed.
In his statement, Long added: “While dialogue on this matter with the Governor’s office is appreciated, whether offending Catholics and the Eucharist was the intent or not, it has had an offensive impact.”
Whitmer has been Michigan’s governor since 2019. She was previously considered a possible Democratic presidential contender after Biden ruled out running for re-election and endorsed Harris to succeed him.
But Whitmer ultimately ruled himself out, was a prominent supporter of Harris and recently made headlines by calling Donald Trump “just crazy” after the Republican nominee bragged that women would stop thinking about abortion if voters give him a second vote on November 5 would give presidency. .
Michigan is among one of the few vital swing states expected to decide Harris’ race against Trump. Biden won the state by just 154,000 votes in 2020, after the state had backed Trump in his electoral college victory four years earlier.
