After sharing a video that seemed to ridicule the Eucharist, Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) of Michigan apologized, saying that she “would never do anything to denigrate someone’s faith.”
The governor clarified that the online video, in which she is seen donning a Harris-Walz hat and putting a Dorito chip on Canadian journalist and author Liz Plank’s tongue, was “supposed to be about the CHIPS Act to Michigan jobs,” in a statement that her office sent to Fox2 Detroit.
Whitmer added in her statement, “I would never do anything to denigrate someone’s faith. I have advocated for people’s freedom to hold and follow their own particular religious beliefs by using my platform. To the Michigan Catholic Conference, my team has spoken. I regret for any confusion this may have caused regarding the purpose of the film, which was meant to be about the significance of the CHIPS Act to the state of Michigan.”
Whitmer has drawn criticism over the video from a number of Catholic organizations, which have called it “offensive.”
The leader of the Michigan Catholic Conference, Paul A. Long, said in a comment that the skit was “an example of a government official mocking a religious person and their practices,” as Thomas D. Williams of Breitbart News previously reported.
According to Paul A. Long, president of the Michigan Catholic Conference, “the skit imitates the gestures of Catholics during the Eucharist, in which Catholics believe that Christ is present. Whether or not insulting Catholics was the intent, it has had an offensive impact. It is not just disgusting or ‘strange;’ it is an example of a government official mocking religious people and their practices.”
The president of the Catholic League, Bill Donohue, blasted Whitmer for the video in a statement released on Friday, saying that Whitmer “insulted Catholics across the country.”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer feeds a left-wing podcaster a Dorito as if it's the Eucharist while wearing a Kamala/Walz hat.
But word on the street is that JD Vance is weird and that MAGA is a cultpic.twitter.com/zgvq5sZntZ
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 10, 2024
Donohue stated that Whitmer “insulted Catholics across the country when she purposefully ridiculed the Eucharist in a video.” Podcaster Liz Plank shared the little video to her Instagram page. Plank is kneeling in front of Whitmer, who is standing over him and sporting a Harris-Walz cap. Mocking the Eucharist, Whitmer places a Dorito chip on Plank’s tongue.
“No way to see this stunt other than a mocking expression of anti-Catholic bigotry,” Donohue continued.
