Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) issued an apology after posting a video appearing to mock the sacrament of the Eucharist, noting that she “would never do something to denigrate someone’s faith.”
In a statement provided to Fox2 Detroit by Whitmer’s office, the governor explained that the video, in which she can be seen wearing a Harris-Walz camouflage hat and placing a Dorito chip on the tongue of Canadian author and journalist Liz Plank, was “supposed to be a video about the importance of the CHIPS Act to Michigan jobs.”
“Over 25 years in public service, I would never do something to denigrate someone’s faith,” Whitmer said in her statement. “I’ve used my platform to stand up for people’s right to hold and practice their personal religious beliefs. My team has spoken to the Michigan Catholic Conference. What was supposed to be a video about the importance of the CHIPS Act to Michigan jobs, has been construed as something it was never intended to be, and I apologize for that.”
In response to the video, Whitmer has received criticism from several Catholic groups who have labeled it as “offensive.”
As Breitbart News’s Thomas D. Williams previously reported, Paul A. Long, the president of the Michigan Catholic Conference, issued a statement that the skit was “an all-too-familiar example of an elected official mocking religious persons and their practices.”
The skit specifically imitates “the posture and gestures of Catholics receiving the Holy Eucharist, in which we believe that Jesus Christ is truly present,” said Paul A. Long, president of the Michigan Catholic Conference.
“It is not just distasteful or ‘strange;’ it is an all-too-familiar example of an elected official mocking religious persons and their practices,” Long said on behalf of the bishops, adding that “whether or not insulting Catholics and the Eucharist was the intent, it has had an offensive impact.”
In a statement on Friday, Bill Donohue, the President of the Catholic League, issued a statement blasting Whitmer for the video, stating that Whitmer “insulted Catholics nationwide.”
Whitmer “insulted Catholics nationwide when she intentionally ridiculed the Eucharist in a video,” Donohue wrote. “The short video was posted by podcaster Liz Plank on her Instagram account. Whitmer, who is wearing a Harris-Walz hat, is standing above Plank, who is kneeling in front of her. Plank opens her mouth and Whitmer places a Dorito chip on her tongue, mocking the Eucharist.”
Donohue added that there was “no way to understand this stunt other than as an expression of vintage anti-Catholic bigotry.”
CatholicVote also criticized Whitmer in a post on X, questioning “how else” the video could “be interpreted other than mockery of Catholics and the sacrament of Holy Communion.”
