The Catholic League criticized Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) on Friday for posting a video showing her feeding a Dorito to a podcaster, with the group accusing her of mocking the Eucharist.
“Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer insulted Catholics nationwide when she intentionally ridiculed the Eucharist in a video,” Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, wrote in a statement.
“There is no way to understand this stunt other than as an expression of vintage anti-Catholic bigotry. Whitmer’s team, and her allies in the media, are trying to distort what she did,” he said.
Podcaster Liz Plank posted a video on her Instagram showing herself kneeling and being fed a Dorito, before the camera pans to Whitmer, who’s wearing at Harris-Walz campaign hat and offers the camera a serious expression.
The song “Dilemma,” by Nelly and Kelly Rowland, plays in the background. Videos showing a similar dynamic of people being fed have been popular on TikTok.
“If he won’t, Gretchen Whitmer will,” Plank wrote in a corresponding post that connected the video to legislation known as the CHIPS Act that is meant to boost the U.S. semiconductor sector.
“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,” Plank wrote.
Donohue derided the idea that the post was meant to be in support of semiconductor legislation signed into law by President Biden.
“There are indeed many clips of people feeding each other on social media, but there is no reference to the CHIPS Act, nor are they eating chips. The typical video on Tik Tok shows one person sitting at a table, often in a restaurant, being fed—usually with a fork or spoon—by a friend,” he argued.
“None of them are kneeling. None of them are receiving food on the tongue,” he added. “What Whitmer did was to deride Holy Communion. There is no wiggle room for her to deny the obvious.”
The Hill has reached out to Whitmer’s office for comment.
