Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, was criticized on social media for not saying enough in her statement about the attack against Israel by Hamas terrorists.
In a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, the governor said she spoke with “communities impacted by what’s happening in the region,” but failed to mention “Israel” by name.
“I have been in touch with communities impacted by what’s happening in the region. It is abhorrent. My heart is with all those impacted. We need peace in this region,” Whitmer wrote.
The post drew criticism for her omission of Israel’s name, as the country faces ongoing attacks from Hamas militants.
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“Say their names…Israelis were murdered by Palestinian terrorists. I know this is hard for rich, white liberals like yourself,” NewsBusters managing editor Cutis Houck replied.
Fox News Radio host Guy Benson called the governor’s statement “Weak.”
Richard Grenell, former acting director of National Intelligence under former President Trump, said the post was “pathetic” and asked why Whitmer would not express support for Israel.
“This is a pathetic statement,” he wrote. “Why can’t you say you support Israel? This is the Left in America. Wise up.”
In another reply, Grenell said to the governor, “This could be about Hawaii. You have terrible instincts.”
Aryeh Lightstone, who served as senior advisor to former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman during the Trump administration, said he is embarrassed for Whitmer and is disappointed that he once hosted her for Thanksgiving in Israel.
“Dear @GovWhitmer I hosted you for Thanksgiving in Israel just a few years ago. I am embarrassed for you and by you & disappointed that I opened my home and my family to you,” Lightstone wrote.
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Daniel Turner, the founder and executive director of Power the Future, a leading industry group that represents energy workers nationwide, also took aim at Whitmer for her comments.
“It took your office… 12 hours… to tweet complete gobbledegook. Congrats, Governor. This is exactly who we know you to be,” Turner wrote in response.
“This so the … moral equivalent of ‘some people did something’. Leaders who are afraid to call evil evil are a threat to a free people. Rest assured if this was a farmer buying seeds during COVID lockdown your words would have been quite decisive,” Turner added in another tweet.
Retired U.S. Army Colonel James Hutton also blasted Whitmer’s response to the terror attacks, calling her words “disgusting.”
“You didn’t even mention the one country that was attacked, Israel. You make it clear that you think Israel and Hamas are moral equivalents. Disgusting,” Hutton wrote. “The people of Israel will prevail despite your kind of thinking.”
Many of the replies under Whitmer’s post asked her to state the region and communities she was referring to.
Following the pushback, Whitmer made another post in which she included Israel’s name. She said the loss of lives in the country is heartbreaking, and condemned the violence against Israel.
“The images that continue to come out of Israel on the anniversary of the Yom Kippur War are devastating. The loss of lives in Israel –children and families – is absolutely heartbreaking and appalling,” the governor said in her follow-up post on X. “There is no justification for violence against Israel. My support is steadfast.”
The replies said the follow-up was an improvement from her initial post, but that Whitmer still needed to state that Hamas terrorists were responsible for the attack.
“And who were the people who did this? Say their name[s]. Coward,” Houck wrote.
“Your support is so steadfast you couldn’t state it the first time around and had to be twitter shamed into a second statement,” said Stephen L. Miller, contributing editor at The Spectator.
More than 300 people were killed and more than 1,800 people were wounded in the violence in Israel stemming from the attack by Hamas.