Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has issued an apology following backlash from Roman Catholic groups who accused her of mocking the sacrament of communion.
The controversy arose after a video surfaced in which Whitmer fed a Dorito crisp to social media influencer Liz Plank, who knelt before her in a gesture resembling the Catholic practice of receiving the Eucharist.
In a statement provided to Michigan news station WJBK, Whitmer explained: "I would never do something to denigrate someone’s faith."
She clarified that the video was intended to promote the Chips Act, legislation signed by President Joe Biden in 2022, which allocated $280 billion (£214 billion) for research and semiconductor manufacturing.
"It was misconstrued as something it was never intended to be, and I apologise for that," Whitmer added.
The video, featuring TikTok creator Liz Plank, shows Plank kneeling as Whitmer places a Dorito in her mouth, while the governor wears a hat supporting the Democratic presidential ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
The Michigan Catholic Conference, which has previously clashed with Whitmer over her stance on abortion rights, was quick to condemn the video.
According to The Guardian, Paul Long, CEO of the Michigan Catholic Conference, accused Whitmer and Plank of imitating the sacred act of receiving the Eucharist, which Catholics believe transforms into the body of Jesus Christ.
Long’s statement described the video as "not just distasteful or ‘strange’" but an example of "an elected official mocking religious persons and their practices."
Democratic sources familiar with Whitmer’s involvement in the video explained that it was part of a viral social media trend where people awkwardly feed each other on camera. Despite this context, Long emphasised that the impact was offensive, regardless of intent.
Whitmer, who has been Michigan’s governor since 2019, has played a prominent role in supporting Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign. She recently attracted attention by criticizing Donald Trump after he claimed that women would stop thinking about abortion if he were re-elected.
Michigan remains a key battleground state in the 2024 election, having narrowly backed Joe Biden in 2020 after supporting Trump in 2016.