Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she believes Donald Trump and Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers are hoping to stoke xenophobic sentiment in Michigan as the state’s closely watched U.S. Senate race heads toward the midterms.
The comments came during an interview with MS NOW anchor Peter Alexander, portions of which aired Sunday and again Monday on his show “State of Play.” Alexander asked Whitmer directly whether there was “hidden xenophobia” in Michigan that Trump and Rogers were trying to exploit.
“I think that Mike Rogers and Donald Trump hope that there is, and that they’re trying to cultivate that,” Whitmer said.
The question followed what Alexander described as “ugly recent rhetoric” from Rogers and Trump directed at Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. Both Trump and Rogers have sharply criticized El-Sayed over allegations concerning his family’s ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Michigan Senate contest between El-Sayed and Rogers has drawn outsized national attention, including campaign rally visits from both former President Barack Obama and President Trump.
Alexander also asked Whitmer whether she considered Trump’s language toward El-Sayed “dangerous.” She agreed that it was, but argued the bigger problem was that Republicans were avoiding a more pressing issue for voters.
“The point is that they’re talking about anything other than the cost of living, which has gone up because of the decisions that this administration has made. You ask yourself, are you better off two years ago than you are today? I doubt very many Americans could say that they are,” Whitmer said.
Fox News Digital said it reached out to Whitmer’s office and to both the El-Sayed and Rogers campaigns for comment but did not immediately hear back.
White House Assistant Press Secretary Olivia Wales responded to the exchange in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying, “President Trump is calling out the radical extremists stoking division, defrauding their communities, and perpetuating violence. The President will continue to unapologetically fight for American greatness and call out the extremists who want only to divide and destroy.”
