Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Sunday blamed President Donald Trump’s divisive and combative rhetoric for spurring the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
In an interview on MSNBC, Whitmer pointed to the armed protest at the Michigan Capitol Building in April, which occurred just days after Trump tweeted “LIBERATE MICHIGAN.”
“When the President tweets something like ‘liberate Michigan’ or an attack on our attorney general, or our secretary of state or on me, it incites people,” Whitmer said. “It legitimizes actions to hurt us, and that is not acceptable and it should have never been deemed acceptable.”
Whitmer said Republicans didn't take the armed protest in Lansing seriously until it was too late.
“I called the Republican leaders here in Michigan and asked them ‘bring down the heat. We are seeing death threats.’ And no one did a darn thing,” Whitmer said.
That has changed, she said.
“They now know how serious this is,” Whitmer said. “I’m sorry it took so long to figure it out but I’m hopeful at this juncture that they will very work closely with us to ensure that we got the resources we need to combat this extremism.”
"When the President tweets something like 'Liberate Michigan'... it incites people. It legitimizes actions to hurt us." @GovWhitmer
— American Voices with Alicia Menendez (@AliciaOnMSNBC) January 17, 2021
Don't miss the full exclusive interview tonight at 7 PM ET on @MSNBC.#AmericanVoices pic.twitter.com/qFm1t2IMBc
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