OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – The leader of Michigan’s Republican Party apologized Saturday for the controversial comments he made at a meeting of the North Oakland Republican Club.
READ: Michigan GOP chair causes controversy with ‘witches,’ assassination remarks
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At the meeting, GOP Chair Ron Weiser referred to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel as “three witches.”
“I made the decision to continue to serve to make sure we continue to have an opportunity to take out those three witches in two years from now,” Weiser said.
A crowd member asked how the party would unseat GOP Reps. Fred Upton and Peter Meijer, two of the 10 Republican House of Representatives members who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump.
“Other than assassination, I have no other way than voting them out,” Weiser said. “You people have to go out there and support their opponents. Do what you have to do to get the vote out in those areas. That’s how you beat people.”
Weiser released an statement Saturday and vowed to be more respectful moving forward.
Weiser’s comments at the meeting brought a quick response from Whitmer, who was targeted in an alleged domestic terrorism plot last year.
“Given the dramatic increase in death threats against Michigan elected officials during the Trump Administration, this type of rhetoric is destructive and downright dangerous,” Whitmer said. “It’s time for people of goodwill on both sides of the aisle to bring down the heat and reject this kind of divisive rhetoric.”
Multiple officials called for Weiser to resign from his position with the GOP and his position on the University of Michigan’s Board of Regents.