Gretchen Whitmer claims feeding Dorito to podcaster wasn’t mockery of Communion but support for CHIPS Act

“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 practice their personal religious beliefs,” Whitmer said in a statement, according to Fox 2 Detroit.

“My team has spoken to the Michigan Catholic Conference. What was supposed to be a video about the importance of the CHIPS Act to Michigan jobs, has been construed as something it was never intended to be, and I apologize for that,” she added.

Whitmer was featured on the Chip Chat podcast with Liz Plank, discussing various issues, including abortion. At one point, she jokingly referred to giving her daughters “post-birth abortions.”

In the video, Whitmer can be seen placing a Dorito into Plank's mouth while Plank kneels, followed by the camera panning to Whitmer, who is wearing a Harris-Walz hat. The scene was believed to be part of a TikTok trend where people eat food from their friends' hands in a suggestive manner, followed by awkward reactions. Whitmer claimed the Dorito reference was tied to the CHIPS Act, which aims to boost semiconductor production.

Following the video's release, many Catholics expressed outrage, accusing Whitmer of mocking the sacrament of Holy Communion.

"I was an elder in my church just recently retired from that, and serving Holy Communion is one of the most sacred things that we do," said Republican political strategist Jamie Roe. "And when I saw that video, I was dumbfounded by what on earth the governor thought she was doing with that.

"It felt to me and I've heard this from a lot of my friends from around Macomb County here today, who felt that she was mocking Holy Communion,” Roe added.