The Michigan Republican who called Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and others “witches” apologized for the controversial remarks over the weekend.
Ron Weiser, who serves as the chairman of the state GOP as well as a regent at the University of Michigan, said he “fell short” of “treating [Whitmer, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson] with respect” when he called the trio “witches” last Thursday evening.
“I apologize to those I offended for the flippant analogy about three women who are elected officials and for the off-hand comments about two other leaders. I have never advocated for violence and never will,” he said in a Saturday statement. “While I will always fight for the people and policies I believe in, I pledge to be part of a respectful political dialogue going forward.”
MICHIGAN GOP CHAIRMAN CALLS TOP STATE DEMOCRATIC WOMEN ‘WITCHES’
Last week, Weiser called the leading female Democratic officials in the state “witches” during an event at a North Oakland Republican Club meeting.
“Our job now is to soften up those three witches and make sure that when we have good candidates to run against them that they are ready for the burning at the stake,” Weiser said at one point, according to the Detroit News. “And maybe the press heard that, too.”
When asked by one attendee about the “witches in our party,” a reference to Reps. Fred Upton and Peter Meijer, who were among the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in January in connection to the Capitol siege, Weiser responded in a manner that critics say was a call for violence.
“Ma’am, other than assassination, I have no other way other than voting out. OK? You people have to go out there and support their opponents,” he responded. “You have to do what you need to get out the vote in those areas. That’s how you beat people.”
In response to Weiser’s comments about Upton and Meijer, party spokesman Ted Goodman said the chairman “personally donated to all Republican congressmen in Michigan and is focused on defeating Democrats rather than involving the party in primary fights.”
“The chairman was making it clear that the primary election process is how we decide our nominees for office,” he said. “To suggest anything else is dishonest and irresponsible.”
The statement about the female Democratic trio attracted controversy, with all three women condemning the chairman’s remarks. A representative for Whitmer called Weiser’s rhetoric “destructive and downright dangerous,” Benson’s spokeswoman called on other leaders to “denounce this kind of behavior and attitude” resoundingly, and Nessel called on the Michigan GOP to “do better” in a tweet.
Others affiliated with the University of Michigan also expressed their disapproval, with all of the school’s female deans signing a letter to Weiser.
“We are writing as the six women deans on the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor campus in protest of the comments that you made on Thursday at the North Oakland Republican Club meeting. … Your words do damage and disrespect not only to women in leadership positions, whether elected or appointed, but also to young women who will lead in the future. We must speak out in protest when women are threatened with violence because of the decisions they have made,” the letter said, adding that Weiser’s comments “do not support the university’s and our units’ values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice.”
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Weiser is one of the university’s biggest donors, and he and his wife have given more than $100 million to the school since his graduation in 1966.
Whitmer, who was the target of a failed kidnapping plot last fall that she attributed in part to dangerous rhetoric from political opponents, is up for reelection in 2022, as are Benson, Nessel, Meijer, and Upton.
