LANSING, Mich — The Atlantic published a piece authored by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Tuesday morning, in which the governor calls on President Donald Trump to stop his “violent rhetoric” against her and other political leaders.
“I have watched the president wedge a deeper divide in our country; refuse to denounce white supremacists on a national debate stage; and launch cruel, adolescent attacks on women like Senator Kamala Harris and public-health leaders like Anthony Fauci,” the piece reads.
“And while I won’t let anything distract me from doing my job as governor, I will not stand back and let the president, or anyone else, put my colleagues and fellow Americans in danger without holding him accountable.”
Whitmer and Trump have very publicly criticized one another since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, that criticism has heightened in recent weeks after the discovery of a plot to kidnap the governor.
The plot included plans not only to kidnap Whitmer, but to have her stand trial for treason and to execute her. There were also plans to storm the Michigan Capitol and instigate a civil war. The plan included explosives and a Taser purchased for $4,000, according to a criminal complaint.
So far, 14 men are known to have been charged in the plot. Eight of the men are facing state charges related to terrorism and six others are facing federal charges.
On Oct. 17, Trump held a rally in Muskegon. He referenced the plot, saying, “I guess they said she was threatened, and she blamed me.” Each time he mentioned Whitmer, the crowd responded by chanting “Lock her up.” At one point, Trump added to the chants, saying, “Lock ‘em all up.”
While Trump was still speaking, Whitmer retweeted a clip of the crowd chanting “lock her up,” saying “this is exactly the rhetoric that has put me, my family, and other government officials’ lives in danger while we try to save the lives of our fellow Americans. It needs to stop.”
In Whitmer’s piece for The Atlantic, she reiterated this point.
“Every time the president ramps up this violent rhetoric, every time he fires up Twitter to launch another broadside against me, my family and I see a surge of vicious attacks sent our way,” Whitmer wrote. “This is no coincidence, and the president knows it. He is sowing division and putting leaders, especially women leaders, at risk.”
The piece was published just hours before the president is scheduled to speak at a rally in Lansing. The event is happening at Capital Region International Airport and Trump is supposed to begin speaking around 2:30 p.m.
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