(Source: MIRS.news, Published 09/23/2022) (MUSKEGON) – Gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon Friday doubled down on her claim that the plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was created by the FBI, which was echoed by Donald Trump Jr. at a rally in Muskegon.
Dixon made a joke to the crowd of about 500 people at the Barclay Place about Whitmer holding President Joe Biden’s hand at the Detroit Auto Show and ended with a quip that she would “rather be kidnapped by the FBI.” She said the news was making a big deal about a comment made earlier in the day comparing the COVID-19 lockdowns to the kidnapping attempt.
“That wasn’t a joke. If you were afraid of that, you should know what it is to have your life ripped away from you. That was a joke what I just said,” Dixon told the crowd in Muskegon.
The joke seemed to fail with the crowd.
Whitmer campaign spokesperson Maeve Coyle said threats of violence are made to both Republicans and Democrats. She said they make everyone think twice before running for office.
“Threats of violence – whether to Governor Whitmer or to candidates and elected officials on the other side of the aisle – are no laughing matter, and the fact that Tudor Dixon thinks it’s a joke shows that she is absolutely unfit to serve in public office,” Coyle said.
After Dixon’s comment she went after the media, saying the news will only cover that she made the joke.
“It doesn’t matter that Biden came here and called me all kinds of names and put my life in danger,” Dixon said.
Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. were convicted in federal court of plotting to kidnap Whitmer and blow up a bridge to distract police.
Dixon claimed “the media works for Democrats.” She said that was why she was glad to see so many people at the event.
She then claimed that Whitmer was “Hidin’ with Biden” and was nowhere to be seen on the campaign trail, she mentioned that there were “invite-only” events that were being held across Michigan, but anyone could come to her events.
Whitmer has held Grilling with Whitmer meet-and-greets across the state and held one in Grand Rapids, which included an event that members of former Gov. John Engler’s administration attended. Engler spoke at Dixon’s Muskegon event.
Most of the rhetoric was directed at the worldwide COVID-19 lockdowns and Whitmer's response, viewed as draconian.
“Never forget what she robbed from you in this state and what she took from you,” Dixon said.
She also brought up the LGBTQ training videos during the rally, stating Whitmer is trying to convert children and allowing sterilizations to happen in the school all while keeping it secret from parents.
Dixon ended her speech conceding that it wasn’t her that people had come out to see, but instead the eldest son of former President Donald Trump.
Trump Jr. also jumped on the rhetoric pushed by Dixon and asked that anyone in the crowd who was a federal agent to raise their hand.
“I just wanted to make sure there wasn’t some sort of federal kidnapping plot being…. Well that was actually a crime that they prevent, unlike everything else they let go. They create them. Gretchen Whitmer knew about it months in advance, but if we can get good PR from it we can pretend like it is real,” he said. “The FBI can try to entrap a couple of meth heads somewhere and run with that narrative.”
Trump Jr. continued his attacks on the FBI and aired his father’s grievances about how Mar-a-Largo was raided to seize boxes of top-secret documents.
The rally held in Muskegon could also end up on the Showtime political documentary series The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth, as Mark McKinnon was part of the crew at the event.
McKinnon said the Emmy-Award nominated series has been in Michigan for a while, and the show returns for an eighth season starting Sept. 25.
