Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told NBC News she was “shocked” by President Donald Trump‘s “appalling” response to her after federal officials revealed they had thwarted a plot to kidnap her around the November election.
“I was shocked to see that response,” Whitmer said. “I think this was a moment where I heard from a lot of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, my fellow governors, Republican and Democrat, reached out to say, ‘Are you OK? How’s your family?'”
“That’s what decent people do. And unfortunately, that was not the response at the White House,” she said.
Within hours of this interview conducted Thursday morning, Trump said on Fox Business Network that Whitmer “has to open up” and “wants to be a dictator,” echoing language used by those arrested in the foiled plot.
“The people can’t stand her,” he added.
Whitmer, a Democrat, had connected the plot to Trump’s language after it was first revealed, saying he has “refused” to condemn groups like the Michigan militia groups named in the foiled scheme, pointing to remarks he made about the “Proud Boys” group during last month’s presidential debate. The president had also tweeted “LIBERATE MICHIGAN” earlier this year when the state was under more stringent shutdown orders.
The White House, the Trump campaign and the president himself all pushed back on that connection.
In a series of tweets the night the indictments were announced, Trump said Whitmer “has done a terrible job” and that rather than “say thank you” for the federal government having foiled the effort, “she calls me a White Supremacist.”
“I do not tolerate ANY extreme violence,” he said. “Defending ALL Americans, even those who oppose and attack me, is what I will always do as your President! Governor Whitmer — open up your state, open up your schools, and open up your churches!”
Such commentary, Whitmer said, outlines what’s “at stake here in this election.”
“In this moment, blaming the victim is appalling and downright dangerous,” she said. “And that’s precisely why this election is so important.”
In connection with the plot, six men were arrested on federal charges while seven more were hit with state charges. Federal investigators had utilized informants and tracked the men for months. A senior federal law enforcement official said some of the individuals were found to be tied to the anti-government “boogaloo” movement. They had also discussed kidnapping Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat.
According to the federal criminal complaint, the men sought to take Whitmer hostage before the November election and conducted surveillance on her vacation home. Just last week, they sought to purchase explosives. One of the alleged plotters referred to the governor as “this tyrant b—-” over her coronavirus restrictions.
“I’m still not sure if I processed it all to be honest,” Whitmer said of the plot. “But this is a moment in time that I think shows how important it is that leaders with platforms … speak to our American ideals and are responsible with our rhetoric. And I think that’s never been more clear to me than right now.”
Source : NBC News
