Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer drew double-takes on social media Thursday over a video in which she feeds a tortilla chip to a kneeling feminist influencer, a head-scratching scene that prompted accusations of spoofing the Eucharist.
The brief video shows the Democratic governor, wearing a “Harris-Walz” ball cap, placing a Dorito on the tongue of Liz Plank, a former Vox Media correspondent and MSNBC columnist who runs the Feministabulous account on Instagram and TikTok.
One commenter on Instagram said that “I thought Big Gretch was handing out communion wafers lol,” and he wasn’t the only one.
The conservative group CatholicVote accused the governor of parodying the Eucharist, the sacrament commemorating the Last Supper and in which the Catholic Church teaches the communion wafers become Jesus Christ’s body and blood.
“How else can this be interpreted other than mockery of Catholics and the sacrament of Holy Communion, not to mention the distasteful pornographic innuendo?” CatholicVote asked. “Gretchen Whitmer is only the latest example of the gross anti-Catholic bigotry festering inside the Democratic Party.”
Former Trump advisor Tim Murtaugh said the video was unlikely to win over any Catholic voters.
“Let’s be clear what’s happening in this video,” said Mr. Murtaugh, a columnist for The Washington Times. “Gov. Whitmer of Michigan is pretending to give communion to [a] leftist podcaster on her knees, using a Dorito as the Eucharist while wearing a Harris-Walz hat. Do they want ZERO Catholic votes for Harris?”
How else can this be interpreted other than mockery of Catholics and the sacrament of Holy Communion, not to mention the distasteful pornographic innuendo? Gretchen Whitmer is only the latest example of the gross anti-Catholic bigotry festering inside the Democratic Party. pic.twitter.com/KG1BmHYkJM
— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) October 10, 2024
It’s also possible that Ms. Whitmer and Ms. Plank were imitating a TikTok trend in which people are shown feeding various food items to their friends as the 2002 song “Dilemma” by Nelly and Kelly Rowland plays in the background.
“This is a tiktok trend that has absolutely NOTHING to do with Catholicism…this is quite a stretch,” Amala Ekpunobi, a conservative podcast host and former PragerU personality, said on X.
For those who have never seen this before pic.twitter.com/iJ9BbeQuIo
— Amala Ekpunobi (@amalaekpunobi) October 10, 2024
Many of those videos show people feeding their friends at tables with a fork or spoon, however, not having an item placed on their tongue while on their knees — a pose rarely seen in 2024 America outside the Catholic Mass.
The caption on the Instagram account indicated that the idea was to make a political statement in support of the CHIPS Act, the 2022 law funding the domestic production of semiconductors.
“If he won’t, Gretchen Whitmer will,” said Ms. Plank on Instagram. “Chips aren’t just delicious, the CHIPS Act is a game-changer for U.S. tech and manufacturing, boosting domestic production of semiconductors to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers! Donald Trump would put that at risk.”
That message was apparently lost on some of her audience. Comments included “This is disgraceful,” “weird,” “Holy cringe, this is terrifying,” and “Is this some sort of secret fetish video?”
Others cheered the video in posts such as, “I love Big Gretch!” and “Big Gretch is a literal QUEEN!”
The scene contained at least two references to Vice President Kamala Harris.
Not only did Ms. Whitmer wear a Harris presidential campaign cap, but the vice president has said that Doritos are her favorite snack.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.