The chairman of the Michigan Republican Party refused to step down on Friday, despite being caught on video calling female Democrats “witches” and joking about assassinating anti-Trump Republicans.
“I made some comments that are clearly being taken out of context,” GOP chair Ron Weiser said on Twitter. “While I should have chosen my words more carefully, anyone who knows me understands I would never advocate for violence.”
“I will not be resigning from the University of Michigan, and our focus at the Michigan Republican Party remains the same – winning in 2022,” he added.
Mr Weiser has faced calls to resign after a Facebook video surfaced of him making controversial remarks to the North Oakland Republican Club in White Lake, Michigan.
“Our job now is to soften up those three witches, and to make sure that when we have good candidates to run against them, that they are ready for the burning at the stake,” the chairman told the group.
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The “three witches” he referred to were Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Later the discussion turned to two of Michigan’s US representatives, Peter Meijer and Fred Upton, who voted to impeach former president Donald Trump. An audience member asked Mr Weiser how to deal with the “witches in our own party”.
“Other than assassination, I have no other way other than voting them out,” he replied.
After the chair’s comments made the news, members of the University of Michigan Board of Regents, of which Mr Weiser is a member, called on him to resign.
“His reference to Governor Whitmer, Attorney General Nessel and Secretary of State Benson as ‘the three witches’ is blatantly sexist,” Regent Mark Bernstein said in a statement. “Suggesting that the work of a political party should enable ‘burning’ these three women ‘at the stake’ is even worse. His reference to the ‘assassination’ of members of Congress in the context of political rhetoric should have no place in any society.”
Regent Jordan Acker concurred.
“Comments about removal by ‘assassination’ are a literal attack on our Democracy, and are incredibly dangerous in light of the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol and the FBI-thwarted attacks on our Governor,” Mr Acker said, referring to a right-wing plot to kidnap Governor Whitmer that the FBI foiled in 2020.
On Friday, Mr Weiser was unrepentant, and used the opportunity to criticise Ms Whitmer.
“My off-the-cuff comments received more scrutiny from the media and leftists in the last 24 hours than the governor’s handling of Covid, the deaths she caused in nursing homes and unemployment issues impacting too many hard-working Michiganders to this day,” he tweeted.
The Independent has reached out to the Michigan Republican Party for comment, but has not yet heard back.
