Gretchen Whitmer

Whitmer Says Trump Continues to Encourage ‘Domestic Terrorism' With Rhetoric

“It’s wrong. It’s got to end," the Michigan governor said after "lock her up" chants at the president's rally

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Sunday accused President Donald Trump of inciting “domestic terrorism” against public officials working on containing the coronavirus, pointing to comments he made just days after law enforcement foiled a plot to kidnap her.

Whitmer has been a frequent target for Trump during the pandemic — he’s previously criticized her state’s coronavirus-related restrictions as too strict and called on people to “Liberate Michigan.”

The day after Trump encouraged his supporters at a rally in the state who were chanting “lock her up” as an attack on Whitmer, the Democrat governor responded with a plea to lower the political volume.

“It’s incredibly disturbing that the president of the United States — 10 days after a plot to kidnap, put me on trial and execute me — 10 days after that was uncovered, the president is at it again and inspiring and incentivizing and inciting this kind of domestic terrorism,” she said in an exclusive interview on “Meet the Press.”

“It’s wrong. It’s got to end. It’s 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. People of good will on both sides of the aisle need to step up and call this out and bring the heat down.”

The latest Trump attacks on Whitmer came during a Saturday night rally in Muskegon, Mich., where he called on her to relax coronavirus restrictions.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com

Contact Us