Gretchen Whitmer apologizes for Doritos video critics say mocked Christian sacrament

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer apologized for a social media video in which she wore a Harris-Walz campaign hat and fed Doritos to a kneeling podcast host in what some critics said made a mockery of a sacred Christian rite.

The Democrat was seen in the clip taking a Doritos chip out of a bag and placing it into the mouth of a kneeling liberal podcaster Liz Plank, before the video panned to the governor wearing a camouflage Harris-Walz hat. While Whitmer said the video was intended to spotlight the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act that allocated nearly $53 billion towards efforts to bring semiconductor supply chains back to the U.S., religious leaders saw it as a spoof of the sacrament of Holy Communion.

MICHIGAN GOV FEEDS KNEELING FEMALE PODCAST HOST DORITOS WHILE WEARING A HARRIS-WALZ HAT

"It is not just distasteful or ‘strange;’ it is an all-too-familiar example of an elected official mocking religious persons and their practices," Michigan Catholic Conference (MCC) President and CEO Paul A. Long said in a statement representing the views of Catholic leaders in the state.

The video was made as part of a viral TikTok trend where one person feeds another person, who is acting sexually, with the song "Dilemma" by Nelly and Kelly Rowland playing in the background before the first person stares uncomfortably into the camera.

MICHIGAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS CONDEMN WHITMER'S DORITOS VIDEO STUNT AS OFFENSIVE

Former Trump advisor Tim Murtaugh, for example, posted, "Let’s be clear what’s happening in this video. Gov. Whitmer of Michigan is pretending to give communion to an leftist podcaster on her knees, using a Dorito as the Eucharist while wearing a Harris-Walz hat. Do they want ZERO Catholic votes for Harris?"

Following the backlash, Whitmer apologized for the video and emphasized that the video was not meant to mock people of faith.

"Over 25 years in public service, I would never do something to denigrate someone's faith," the governor said in a statement to Fox 2. "I’ve used my platform to stand up for people’s right to hold and practice their personal religious beliefs."

"My team has spoken to the Michigan Catholic Conference," she continued. "What was supposed to be a video about the importance of the CHIPS Act to Michigan jobs, has been construed as something it was never intended to be, and I apologize for that."