Whitmer blasts WSJ column on Dearborn
Governor laments opinion article’s ‘cruel and ignorant’ characterization of the city
GRAND RAPIDS — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday decried a recent opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal, saying the piece’s characterization of Dearborn was a “total misrepresentation of an important city.”
An opinion article published Friday in the WSJ called Dearborn, a community of more than 100,000 residents and one of the largest Arab American communities in the U.S., “America’s Jihad Capital.” The story drew widespread rebukes from officials both in Dearborn and throughout Michigan, with Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud calling for an increased number of police patrols in places of worship after its publication.
The opinion piece was published amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Some in Dearborn and elsewhere in Michigan have called for a cease-fire. Since the start of the war, the Palestinian death toll has reached 27,478, according to the Associated Press.
Whitmer, speaking to reporters after an event in Grand Rapids, said the opinion article misrepresented Dearborn and is the type of rhetoric that can lead to people feeling unsafe.
“I thought that that opinion article was incredibly cruel and ignorant, and a total misrepresentation of an important city full of a lot of beautiful people who are Michiganders, and are our neighbors and our extended family,” Whitmer said.
“I recognize that there are a lot of people hurting because of the war that is raging in Israel and Gaza. (There are) people with Jewish relatives who are hurting, people with Palestinian or Muslim relatives that are hurting, and that’s why my job as governor has been to try to keep the heat down here at home. Make sure people are safe whether they worship in a mosque, or synagogue, or a church or anywhere else for that matter. I thought that that opinion article was really abhorrent.”
On social media, Whitmer also posted “Islamophobia and all forms of hate have no place in Michigan,” on her campaign X account Sunday.
The opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal has been panned by many in Michigan and elsewhere, with President Joe Biden also taking to social media to say “We must continue to condemn hate in all forms.”
Protesters gathered in Dearborn on Wednesday, a day before Biden made a campaign visit to Michigan, saying the president was not welcome in the state. Demonstrators said because Biden has not called for a ceasefire in Gaza, they will not vote for him in the coming presidential election.