CNN is calling out Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over her reluctance to condemn “anti-Semitic” comments directed at Attorney General Dana Nessel.
During CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, Whitmer repeatedly refused to condemn attacks on Nessel’s decision to charge pro-Palestinian University of Michigan protestors from Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.
“Michigan Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who is Palestinian, she called the charges from Nessel, who is Jewish, shameful, and Tlaib said, ‘it seems that the attorney general decided if the issue was Palestine, she was going to treat it differently, and that alone speaks volumes about possible biases within the agency she runs,’” CNN host Jake Trapper said.
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Trapper noted Nessel’s Friday response on X that “Rashida should not use my religion to imply I cannot perform my job fairly as Attorney General. It’s anti-Semitic and wrong.”
He posed the question to Whitmer: “Do you think that Tlaib’s suggestion that Nessel’s office is biased was anti-Semitic?”
The governor repeatedly refused to answer the question directly, instead insisting “I’m not going to get in the middle of this argument they’re having.”
The response did not sit well with CNN host Dana Bash, who questioned why Whitmer repeatedly dodged during a Monday segment on Inside Politics.
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“The key is, which we have learned the hard way, is you got to call it out no matter where it comes from,” Bash said of anti-Semitism. “What does it tell you about the inability, or the unwillingness, to do so when it comes from a prominent person in your own party?”
A sad reality – antisemitism is everywhere and it comes from both ends of the political spectrum. We saw two examples of politicians sidestepping instead of calling it out on @CNNSOTU yesterday. @DavidChalian discusses the unwillingness by some to put morality ahead of politics. pic.twitter.com/mpmrkq69Oy
— Dana Bash (@DanaBashCNN) September 23, 2024
“It’s because you’re putting politics ahead of principle,” said David Chalian, CNN’s political director. “It’s not hard to say that Rashida Tlaib saying that Dana Nessel is pursuing charges because she’s Jewish is an anti-Semitic thing to say. It is.”
“You got to call it out,” he said.
Whitmer eventually did, after her CNN interview prompted public rebukes from the Anti-Defamation League and others.
On Monday, Whitmer issued a statement to CNN.
“The suggestion that Attorney General Nessel would make charging decisions based on her religion as opposed to the rule of law is anti-Semitic,” Whitmer wrote. “Attorney General Nessel has always conducted her work with integrity and followed the rule of law. We must all use our platform and voices to call out hateful rhetoric and racist tropes.”
Gov Whitmer statement just now: https://t.co/CUOg7fIclH pic.twitter.com/EgIkoF93CV
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) September 23, 2024
The reporter with the Detroit Metro Times who quoted Tlaib issued a “fact-check” on Monday that disputed the claims of anti-Semitism.
“I’m the reporter who interviewed Rashida Tlaib,” Steve Neavling posted to X with a link to the “fact-check.” “She never said Nessel did this because she’s Jewish. You’re spreading lies.”
“Tlaib never once mentioned Nessel’s religion or Judaism. But Metro Times pointed out in the story that Nessel is Jewish, and that appears to be the spark that led to the false claims,” the fact-check read. “It should also be noted that the ACLU of Michigan criticized Nessel for charging peaceful protestors at the University of Michigan.”
Regardless, it’s not the first time CNN has called Whitmer out.
In June, CNN host John Bergman set the record straight after the governor insisted former President Trump “is absolutely front and center as on the road to an all-out national abortion ban.”
“He says he’s not on the road to an all-out abortion ban, federal, because he said he wants to leave it up to the states, right? He said he would not support a federal ban,” Bergman countered. “I’m not arguing with him being responsible for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, but just on that specific question, he wants it left up to the states, he says.”
CNN Host Fact-Checks Dem Gov Who Claims Trump Backs 'All-Out National Abortion Ban' pic.twitter.com/HmXTL30OFf
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 24, 2024
Trump made that clear in April when he said his stance on abortion is “all about the will of the people.”
“My view is … the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state. Many states will be different, many will have a different number of weeks or some will have more conservative than others, and that’s what they will be. At the end of the day, this is all about the will of the people,” Trump said in a video posted to Truth Social. “You must follow your heart or, in many cases, your religion or your faith. Do what’s right for your family and do what’s right for yourself … do what’s right for our country.”
Democrats including Whitmer, Vice President Kamala Harris, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Nessel and others, however, continue to parrot the national abortion ban lie.