Michigan’s Democratic Governor has apologised for a video in which she fed Doritos to a kneeling podcast host in what was seen as mocking the Holy Communion.
The video was intended to promote one of Joe Biden’s flagship achievements, the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act which invested nearly $53billion ($86b) to boost the semiconductor industry in the US.
But Gretchen Whitmer’s attempt at humour in the video with Liz Plank, a TikTok content creator, backfired spectacularly in the pivotal state where Catholics account for 18% of the population.
Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, rounded on Whitmer, who had been seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party.
“Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer insulted Catholics nationwide when she intentionally ridiculed the eucharist in a video,” Donohue said.
“There is no way to understand this stunt other than as an expression of vintage anti-Catholic bigotry. Whitmer’s team, and her allies in the media, are trying to distort what she did.
“There are indeed many clips of people feeding each other on social media, but there is no reference to the CHIPS Act, nor are they eating chips. The typical video on TikTok shows one person sitting at a table, often in a restaurant, being fed – usually with a fork or spoon – by a friend,” he added.
“None of them are kneeling. None of them are receiving food on the tongue.
“What Whitmer did was to deride Holy Communion. There is no wiggle room for her to deny the obvious.”
Gretchen Whitmer is seen leaving Jimmy Kimmel Live! on October 1, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Photo / PG/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
Following the backlash, Whitmer said she never intended to mock anybody’s faith.
“Over 25 years in public service, I would never do something to denigrate someone’s faith. I’ve used my platform to stand up for people’s right to hold and practise their personal religious beliefs,” she said.
Offending Catholic voters could prove costly to the Harris campaign especially after she decided to skip one of the church’s blue-ribbon events, the Al Smith Dinner.
Timothy Dolan, New York cardinal, observed that the last presidential candidate to miss the event was Walter Mondale in 1984 who lost 49 out of 50 states to Ronald Reagan.
As things stand, Kamala Harris has a wafer-thin two-point lead over Donald Trump in Michigan which has 15 votes in the Electoral College.
Michigan forms part of the so-called Democrat “blue wall”, and the winner of the state has taken the White House in nine of the last 12 presidential elections.
Donald Trump won Michigan in 2016, but the state flipped to Joe Biden in 2020 as the Democrats captured a raft of rust belt states.
The former president has targeted the state, largely associated with the car industry, with a wave of attacks on the administration’s promotion of electric vehicles and plans to move away from fossil fuels.
The video row is the latest controversy in which Whitmer – who has been tipped as a future presidential candidate – has been embroiled.
Her tough line on Covid restrictions was attacked by opponents and she was the target of an attempted kidnap in 2020, with nine men later convicted for their role in the plot.
