Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) is taking aim at President Donald Trump, blasting the president’s rhetoric following the arrest of several suspects who were allegedly planning a kidnap plot.
The FBI thwarted a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D). According to the FBI, some of those accused of planning to kidnap and kill Whitmer were also contemplating kidnapping Northam. At least seven of the thirteen people arrested are tied to an armed militia.
In Wednesday’s interview on CNN’s “New Day,” Northam noted that his office has dealt with multiple threats dating back to January.
While saying he does not “govern under a cloud of intimidation,” Northam said, “This is not about me. It’s not about the governor of Michigan. This is about this country.”
He pointed blame at Trump saying, “And it’s about a president that is emboldening…these white supremacists.”
The Virginia governor then brought up Trump’s previous remarks in 2017 after violence broke out during a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, when the president said there were “very fine people on both sides” there.
Watch Northam’s interview below:
“This is not about me. It’s not about the governor of Michigan. This is about this country. And it’s about a president that is emboldening… these white supremacists,” @GovernorVA Ralph Northam says about an alleged kidnapping plot targeting him along with Michigan Gov. Whitmer pic.twitter.com/s01PKDw1pR
— CNN This Morning with Audie Cornish (@CNNThisMorning) October 14, 2020
Whitmer also slammed Trump after the kidnapping plot was thwarted. She said on Oct. 8, “Just last week, the President of the United States stood before the American people and refused to condemn white supremacists and hate groups like these two Michigan militia groups,” as IJR reported.
“Stand back and stand by,’ he told them. ‘Stand back and stand by.’ Hate groups heard the President’s words not as a rebuke, but as a rallying cry. As a call to action,” Whitmer said, adding, “When they stoke and contribute to hate speech, they are complicit.”
Trump, however, hit back as he said in a tweet, “My Justice Department and Federal Law Enforcement announced today that they foiled a dangerous plot against the Governor of Michigan. Rather than say thank you, she calls me a White Supremacist —while Biden and Democrats refuse to condemn Antifa, Anarchists, Looters and Mobs that burn down Democrat run cities.”
He added in the tweet, “I do not tolerate ANY extreme violence. Defending ALL Americans, even those who oppose and attack me, is what I will always do as your President!”
In response to Whitmer and Northam, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told CNN affiliate WTVR, “Governor Whitmer, and now Governor Northam, are sowing division by making these outlandish allegations. America stands united against hate and in support of our federal law enforcement who stopped this plot.”
