Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer is facing backlash after a video surfaced of her with TikTok content creator Liz Plank allegedly mocking communion. In the video, Plank is kneeling, resembling the pious position Catholics adopt when accepting communion. Whitmer is then seen feeding the chip to Plank in a fashion similar to a Catholic priest. According to Whitmer, the video was meant to promote President Biden’s 2022 “Chips Act,” which provided an additional $50 billion to research and manufacture semiconductors.

Catholics, for whom communion or the Eucharist is a particularly holy sacrament, took umbrage at the governor’s apparent disrespectful gesture. CatholicVote organized a “Rosary Rally for Religious Respect” outside the governor’s home in Michigan. A group of 100 Catholics recited the rosary outside the governor’s home. One participant called the video “blasphemous and offensive.” “It’s our most sacred sacrament. So, we came to pray. We came to pray for her, and we are also praying out of mercy to pray for our Lord,” she said. “We find it profoundly troubling that our faith and its sacred beliefs are so openly mocked,” said CatholicVote National Political Director Logan Church. “As Catholics, we believe in the power of prayer, especially for our nation’s leaders. Our rally served as a call for the conversion of Governor Whitmer’s heart and mind, urging her to recognize and respect our religious convictions. We also hope this serves as a reminder to our elected officials that Catholics vote.”

Republican political strategist Jamie Roe questioned Whitmer’s decision making in participating in the video. “I have no idea what the governor was thinking,” said Roe. “I was an elder in my church just recently retired from that, and serving Holy Communion is one of the most sacred things that we do. And when I saw that video, I was dumbfounded by what on earth the governor thought she was doing with that.” The video is supposed to be part of a TikTok trend called “The Dilemma,” where one friend awkwardly feeds food to another.

Whitmer has offered something of an apology, stating the video was “construed” wrongly. “Over 25 years in public service, I would never do something to denigrate someone’s faith. I’ve used my platform to stand up for people’s right to hold and practice their personal religious beliefs,” the governor wrote. She stated she had spoken to the Michigan Catholic Conference. “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,” she concluded. Roe, however, remained skeptical. “If she sincerely apologizes, I believe in forgiveness. I’m a Christian and I believe in forgiveness. But what we got today was an excuse.”