Gov. Whitmer balks at questions about Michigan AG Dana Nessel and Rashida Tlaib feud: 'Not getting in middle'

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer refused to take a side in the feud between Attorney General Dana Nessel and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich who accused Nessel of bringing charges against anti-Israel campus protesters at the University of Michigan because she is Jewish.

In an interview on CNN’s "State of the Union" Sunday, Jake Tapper asked the Democratic governor whether she agrees with Nessel, a Democrat, that Tlaib's accusation about her charging anti-Israel campus demonstrators because of her personal religious bias was rooted in antisemitism.

"Do you think that Tlaib's suggestion that Nessel’s office is biased was antisemitic?" Tapper asked.

U.S. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

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"All I can say is that I know that our Jewish community is in pain, as is our Palestinian and Muslim and Arab communities in Michigan," Whitmer said. "I know that seeing the incredible toll that this war has taken on both communities has been really, really challenging and difficult, and my heart breaks for so many. But as governor, my job is to make sure that both these communities are protected and respected under the law in Michigan, and that’s exactly what I’m going to stay focused on."

Tapper pressed her again, "Do you think Attorney General Nessel is not doing her job?" 

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer looks on at the United Center, on Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 20, 2024.  (REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid)

"Because Congresswoman Tlaib is suggesting that she shouldn’t be prosecuting these individuals that Nessel says broke the law, and that she’s only doing it because she’s Jewish, and the protesters are not," he continued. "That’s quite an accusation. Do you think it’s true?"

Whitmer continued to dodge questions on the issue.

"Like I said, Jake, I’m not going to get in the middle of this argument that they’re having," she said. "I can just say this: We do want to make sure that students are safe on our campuses, and we recognize that every person has the right to make their statement about how they feel about an issue, a right to speak out. And I’m going to use every lever of mine to ensure that both are true."

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) poses for selfies with anti-Israel demonstrators outside her office in the Rayburn House Office Building as they rallied on Capitol Hill.   (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Nessel, Michigan's first Jewish attorney general, charged nine university students for refusing to leave the anti-Israel encampments in May after police ordered them to vacate, the Detroit Metro Times reported. They are being charged with trespassing and resisting or obstructing a police officer, according to the outlet. Two additional people were charged with attempted ethnic intimidation and malicious destruction of personal property at a separate anti-Israel protest.

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Tlaib, a ‘Squad’ member and vocal critic of Israel, slammed the charges from Nessel as "shameful," telling the Detroit Metro Times in an interview, "it seems that the Attorney General decided if the issue was Palestine, she was going to treat it differently, and that alone speaks volumes about possible biases within the agency she runs.’ 

Anti-Israel demonstrators gather to protest University of Michigan President Santa Ono's "Statement regarding Mideast violence" outside the University of Michigan President's House on Oct. 13, 2023, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. A Jewish teen was assaulted in what authorities have called a "bias-motivated attack" last weekend.  (Jacob Hamilton/Ann Arbor News via AP, File)

Nessel responded on X, "Rashida Tlaib should not use my religion to imply I cannot perform my job fairly as Attorney General. It’s anti-Semitic and wrong.'"

Whitmer's hesitation to defend Nessel caught the attention of Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, who scolded the governor for failing to support her attorney general.

"@GovWhitmer, when your attorney general prosecutes people for violating the law, harassing Jews, and attacking police officers, it’s in the interest of public safety. When a congresswoman accuses the attorney general of prosecuting protestors simply because she’s Jewish, it’s bias."

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"Saying you want to ‘make sure that students are safe on our campuses’ is just words if you are not willing to use your bully pulpit to speak out unequivocally on antisemitism and support holding people accountable for violating the law when it affects Jews."