President Donald Trump has not been shy about what he thinks of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D).
At a rally in her state on Saturday, the president blasted her handling of the coronavirus outbreak and appeared to poke fun at a recent kidnapping plot that she was the subject of.
During an appearance on NBC’s “Meet The Press” on Sunday, host Chuck Todd asked Whitmer how she is personally coping with the fact that she was the subject of a kidnapping plot.
“It’s incredibly disturbing that the President of the United States ten days after a plot to kidnap put me on trial, and execute me. Ten days after that was uncovered, the president is at it again,” she responded.
She continued, “And inspiring and incentivizing and inciting this kind of domestic terrorism. It is wrong. It’s got to end. It is dangerous, not just for me and my family, but for public servants everywhere who are doing their jobs and trying to protect their fellow Americans.
Whitmer called on Americans to “step up and call this out and bring the heat down.”
“This is the United States of America. We do not tolerate actions like he is giving comfort to,” she added.
Watch the video below:
NEW: Trump’s supporters chant “lock her up” at Michigan rally.@GovWhitmer: “Ten days after a plot to kidnap, put me on trial and execute me. Ten days after that was uncovered, the president is at it again. And inspiring and incentivizing and inciting … domestic terrorism.” pic.twitter.com/3FlnyN2Qp6
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) October 18, 2020
Trump held a campaign rally in Muskegon, Michigan, on Saturday, where he blasted Whitmer for her coronavirus restrictions and took a shot at her for linking his rhetoric to a kidnapping plot.
“They said she was threatened,” he said, adding, “And she blamed me.”
As he spoke about the governor, attendees began to chant, “Lock her up!”
Lee Chatfield, the Republican speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, addressed the chants in a tweet, “Trump didn’t chant ‘lock her up’ about our Governor. But others did, and it was wrong. She was literally just targeted. Let’s debate differences. Let’s win elections. But not that.”
Earlier this month, the FBI announced it had arrested several militia members for allegedly plotting to kidnap and execute Whitmer, driven by a hatred of government and her coronavirus restrictions.
After the news of the arrests broke, Whitmer said, “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.”
“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. When our leaders speak, their words matter. They carry weight. When our leaders meet with, encourage, or fraternize with domestic terrorists, they legitimize their actions, and they are complicit,” she added.
Trump shot back on Twitter, “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.”
Whitmer was not the only subject of a kidnapping plot. Some of the defendants allegedly also considered kidnapping Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D).
After the news broke, Northam claimed Trump is “emboldening” white supremacists.
