By Ted Hesson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Sunday said U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism of her at a rally was “incredibly disturbing” after he called her “dishonest” and drew shouts of “lock her up” from the crowd.
Whitmer, the target an alleged kidnapping plot that was uncovered by the FBI earlier this month, accused Trump of inciting domestic terrorism with his rhetoric. She was speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
Trump at a rally in Michigan on Saturday slammed her support for restrictions to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has surged in parts of the United States in recent weeks.
Trump’s remarks targeting Whitmer led to chants of “lock her up” at the rally on Saturday, a phrase Trump supporters often directed at former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump in 2016.
“It’s got to end,” Whitmer said. “It is dangerous, not just for me and my family, but for public servants everywhere who are doing their jobs and trying to protect their fellow Americans.”
Trump faces re-election on Nov. 3 and trails Democratic challenger Joe Biden in public opinion polls. The Republican president won Michigan narrowly in 2016, but Biden currently has an edge in that battleground state, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos survey of likely voters.
For an interactive look at Reuters polling, including on the U.S. election, open (https://polling.reuters.com/) in a separate browser.
Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law and a Trump campaign senior adviser, defended Trump’s comments at the rally during an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
“He wasn’t doing anything, I don’t think, to provoke people to threaten this woman at all,” she said. “He was having fun at a Trump rally, and, quite frankly, there are bigger issues than this for everyday Americans.”
(Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
