{"id":1029881,"date":"2024-03-02T21:28:32","date_gmt":"2024-03-02T21:28:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1029881"},"modified":"2024-05-20T14:56:17","modified_gmt":"2024-05-20T14:56:17","slug":"meet-michael-whatley-a-trump-backed-election-denying-maga-extremist-who-wants-to-rip-away-americans-basic-freedoms-and-also-cant-denounce-nazis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/meet-michael-whatley-a-trump-backed-election-denying-maga-extremist-who-wants-to-rip-away-americans-basic-freedoms-and-also-cant-denounce-nazis\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Michael Whatley: A Trump-Backed, Election-Denying MAGA Extremist Who Wants To Rip Away Americans\u2019 Basic Freedoms (And Also Can\u2019t Denounce Nazis)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"341\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/War-Room-Master-Image.png?w=1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1031397\" srcset=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/War-Room-Master-Image.png 1500w, https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/War-Room-Master-Image.png?resize=300,100 300w, https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/War-Room-Master-Image.png?resize=768,256 768w, https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/War-Room-Master-Image.png?resize=1024,341 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><em>As Donald Trump campaigns in future RNC Chair Michael Whatley\u2019s home state of North Carolina,&nbsp;<strong>DNC&nbsp;Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cDonald Trump hand picked Michael Whatley to lead the RNC not in spite of his record as an election-denying MAGA extremist \u2013 but because of it. Whatley earned his promotion with Trump with a resume of pushing to rip away women\u2019s basic freedoms \u2013 including access to IVF \u2013 and refusing to condemn Nazis and white supremacists. Whatley is being rewarded for completely embracing Trump\u2019s far-right anti-freedom agenda because extremism and hatred are the qualities Trump is looking for in an apprentice.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Michael Whatley is a dangerous MAGA extremist who has been endorsed by Donald Trump to take over the RNC.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=90379082c3d9e6a03baf3f677&amp;id=333b913fba&amp;e=703c8f6570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">New York Magazine<\/a>:&nbsp;<strong>\u201cTrump Taps Election Deniers Lara Trump, Michael Whatley to Lead RNC\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=90379082c3d9e6a03baf3f677&amp;id=4b75c82b90&amp;e=703c8f6570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>: \u201cIn pushing Michael Whatley as the next leader of the Republican&nbsp;National&nbsp;Committee,&nbsp;<strong>Donald Trump zeroed in on the North Carolina GOP chairman\u2019s dedication to \u2018election integrity,\u2019 baselessly suggesting he would ensure the 2024 race \u2018can\u2019t be stolen.\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=90379082c3d9e6a03baf3f677&amp;id=047f90b89e&amp;e=703c8f6570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>:&nbsp;<strong>\u201cDonald Trump wants a leadership change at the Republican&nbsp;National&nbsp;Committee&nbsp;in an attempt to install a new slate of loyalists<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2014 including his daughter-in-law \u2014 atop the GOP\u2019s political machine even before the former president formally secures the party\u2019s next presidential nomination.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=90379082c3d9e6a03baf3f677&amp;id=d8ed93c89d&amp;e=703c8f6570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Politico<\/a>: \u201cSeveral senior Republican officials are concerned that&nbsp;<strong>Donald Trump\u2019s expected takeover of the RNC will ultimately pave the way for the&nbsp;committee&nbsp;to once again cover his legal bills.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Whatley is an election denier who parroted Trump\u2019s baseless lies about the 2020 election.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=90379082c3d9e6a03baf3f677&amp;id=e956e648a6&amp;e=703c8f6570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">New York Times<\/a>:&nbsp;<strong>\u201cMr. Trump likes Mr. Whatley for one overwhelming reason, according to people who have discussed him with the former president: He is \u2018a stop the steal guy,\u2019<\/strong>&nbsp;as one of the people described him. He endorses Mr. Trump\u2019s false claims about mass voter fraud\u2026 Mr. Whatley has baselessly claimed that election security efforts from Republicans in North Carolina stopped Democrats from cheating.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=90379082c3d9e6a03baf3f677&amp;id=81ff525fea&amp;e=703c8f6570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CNN<\/a>:&nbsp;<strong>\u201cLikely frontrunner for RNC chair parroted Trump\u2019s 2020 election lies\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cMichael Whatley, the chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, shared false claims that Republican observers were prevented from accessing polling locations and repeatedly said&nbsp;Democratic&nbsp;cities in swing states were engaged in \u2018massive fraud.\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cHis elevation to RNC chair could give Trump a loyalist more willing to devote resources to pursue future voter fraud claims in court should they arise.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201c\u2018Regardless of how these lawsuits come out around the country with the presidential race we do know that there was massive fraud that took place,\u2019 Whatley said in one late November 2020 interview on local North Carolina radio. \u2018We know that it took place in places like Milwaukee and Detroit and Philadelphia.\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=90379082c3d9e6a03baf3f677&amp;id=222fdef464&amp;e=703c8f6570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Raleigh News &amp; Observer<\/a>:&nbsp;<strong>\u201cWhatley has frequently repeated Trump\u2019s false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=90379082c3d9e6a03baf3f677&amp;id=e833d13e1b&amp;e=703c8f6570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vice<\/a>: \u201cNorth Carolina Republican chair Michael Whatley falsely claimed in February that \u2018we certainly saw evidence of voting irregularities, of election counting irregularities in a number of places around the country,\u2019 and invented the claim that the reason Trump won North Carolina was his state party\u2019s vigilance against Democrats\u2019 attempts to cheat.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Whatley has also embraced Trump\u2019s lies about January 6, saying that neither Trump nor extreme Republicans were responsible for the riot.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=90379082c3d9e6a03baf3f677&amp;id=c9dd437f36&amp;e=703c8f6570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NPR<\/a>: \u201cDoes the president bear any responsibility for lying to them for months about the results of the election, including on the day of the riot?\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whatley: \u201cWell,&nbsp;<strong>I think the president certainly felt and still feels that there was massive voter irregularities across the country.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Whatley is an anti-abortion extremist who celebrated the overturning of&nbsp;<em>Roe v. Wade<\/em>&nbsp;and called North Carolina Republicans\u2019 extreme abortion ban \u201cresponsible\u201d and \u201cmainstream.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=90379082c3d9e6a03baf3f677&amp;id=b73a24d079&amp;e=703c8f6570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Raleigh News &amp; Observer<\/a>: \u201cMichael Whatley, chairman of the N.C. GOP, said&nbsp;<strong>he was proud of activism on the part of the anti-abortion movement\u201d [after&nbsp;<em>Roe v. Wade<\/em>&nbsp;was overturned]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=90379082c3d9e6a03baf3f677&amp;id=906258c4ce&amp;e=703c8f6570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Whatley<\/a>&nbsp;on North Carolina\u2019s extreme abortion ban: \u201cWell&nbsp;<strong>I think it\u2019s a responsible bill<\/strong>, I think that this is a legislative package that is&nbsp;<strong>well within the mainstream<\/strong>&nbsp;of North Carolina political thought, it\u2019s going to be supported, these are positions that are widely supported across the state.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Whatley has also consistently supported a MAGA platform that could rip away access to IVF \u2013&nbsp;similar to the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that Trump made possible.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=90379082c3d9e6a03baf3f677&amp;id=5d64b12d51&amp;e=703c8f6570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Popular Information<\/a>: \u201cTrump&#8217;s pick for chair of the Republican Party opposes \u2018the destruction of human embryos\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cUnder [Whatley\u2019s] leadership, the North Carolina Republican Party has consistently opposed scientific procedures that involve discarding human embryos, saying such actions violate \u2018the sanctity of all human life.\u2019<\/strong>&nbsp;The most recent version of the North Carolina Republican Party Platform, approved in 2022, states that \u2018[u]nborn children have constitutional rights to life and liberty and, the government must respect and protect all innocent human life from conception to natural death.\u2019 Specifically, the party opposes \u2018the destruction of human embryos.\u2019 A previous version of the platform under Whatley, approved by the North Carolina Republican Party in 2020, contains identical language. \u2026&nbsp;<strong>The position of the North Carolina GOP under Whatley on embryos mirrors a recent decision by the Alabama Supreme Court.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Whatley is in line with Trump\u2019s efforts to rip away health care \u2013&nbsp;he has railed against the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=90379082c3d9e6a03baf3f677&amp;id=0e6c757035&amp;e=703c8f6570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Whatley<\/a>: \u201cThat is going to have to be a process that\u2019s going to go through the House, going to go through the Senate because&nbsp;<strong>there\u2019s a lot of legislative fixes that you\u2019re going to need in there for Obamacare.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=90379082c3d9e6a03baf3f677&amp;id=3c137e28f1&amp;e=703c8f6570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Whatley<\/a>&nbsp;after North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper vetoed a budget that lacked Medicaid expansion: \u201cGovernor Cooper has chosen to hold NC hostage by vetoing a strong bipartisan budget bill which would help students, teachers and law enforcement in order to try to expand socialized healthcare.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=90379082c3d9e6a03baf3f677&amp;id=ee6f052478&amp;e=703c8f6570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2019<\/a>:&nbsp;<strong>Whatley criticized Governor Cooper for pushing Medicaid expansion.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Whatley has praised Trump\u2019s failed MAGAnomics agenda that included the worst jobs record since the Great Depression, a disastrous trade deal with China, and a tax scam that rigged the economy for the ultra-wealthy at the expense of America\u2019s middle class.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=90379082c3d9e6a03baf3f677&amp;id=c1e6a30c71&amp;e=703c8f6570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Whatley<\/a>: \u201c[Trump] built the strongest economy in U.S. history by enacting historic tax cuts, dramatically cutting red tape, and bringing manufacturing back to America. \u2026 He has put America First by standing up to China and negotiating treaties, like the USMCA and Phase 1 China Trade Deal, which treat American farmers, manufacturers, and small businesses fairly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=90379082c3d9e6a03baf3f677&amp;id=2ab840b56f&amp;e=703c8f6570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fortune<\/a>: \u201cTrump to leave office with the worst jobs record since Herbert Hoover\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=90379082c3d9e6a03baf3f677&amp;id=e93e18f775&amp;e=703c8f6570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Forbes<\/a>: \u201cTrump Tax Cuts Helped Billionaires Pay Less Taxes Than The Working Class In 2018\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=90379082c3d9e6a03baf3f677&amp;id=5c19386e20&amp;e=703c8f6570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bloomberg<\/a>: \u201cThe Offshoring of U.S. Jobs Increased on Trump\u2019s Watch\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=90379082c3d9e6a03baf3f677&amp;id=1fd92cb0d9&amp;e=703c8f6570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CNN<\/a>: \u201cTrump promised to win the trade&nbsp;war&nbsp;with China. He failed\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Whatley is refusing to condemn a state House GOP candidate with ties to a neo-Nazi organization.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=90379082c3d9e6a03baf3f677&amp;id=0f60727fb6&amp;e=703c8f6570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Raleigh News &amp; Observer<\/a>:&nbsp;<strong>\u201cNC GOP chair stays quiet about candidate\u2019s Nazi ties after failed effort at removal from ballot\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis year, however, the state GOP, led by&nbsp;<strong>Chair Michael Whatley, has remained silent on a candidate with ties to a neo-Nazi organization.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cJoseph Gibson III, a Rockingham County podcaster with past felony convictions, is running for a state House seat. \u2026&nbsp;<strong>After Gibson was approved to be on the ballot, Whatley \u2014 who is now running to be chair of the Republican&nbsp;National&nbsp;Committee&nbsp;with former President Donald Trump\u2019s support \u2014 did not publicly condemn his candidacy.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Anti-Defamation League found that Gibson had ties to the neo-Nazi&nbsp;National&nbsp;Socialist Movement and referred to him as a \u2018white supremacist and anti-government extremist.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe ADL\u2019s report said Gibson participated in livestream events hosted by the NSM and in one instance messaged the channel saying \u201888,\u2019 a dog whistle used by white supremacists to mean \u2018Heil Hitler.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As Donald Trump campaigns in future RNC Chair Michael Whatley\u2019s home state of North Carolina,&nbsp;DNC&nbsp;Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:&nbsp; \u201cDonald Trump hand picked Michael Whatley to lead the RNC not in spite of his record as an election-denying MAGA extremist \u2013 but because of it. Whatley earned his promotion with Trump [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":263,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1029881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Meet Michael Whatley: A Trump-Backed, Election-Denying MAGA Extremist Who Wants To Rip Away Americans\u2019 Basic Freedoms (And Also Can\u2019t Denounce Nazis) - Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/meet-michael-whatley-a-trump-backed-election-denying-maga-extremist-who-wants-to-rip-away-americans-basic-freedoms-and-also-cant-denounce-nazis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-02T21:28:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-20T14:56:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/War-Room-Master-Image.png?w=1024\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Claire DePree\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Claire DePree\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/meet-michael-whatley-a-trump-backed-election-denying-maga-extremist-who-wants-to-rip-away-americans-basic-freedoms-and-also-cant-denounce-nazis\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/meet-michael-whatley-a-trump-backed-election-denying-maga-extremist-who-wants-to-rip-away-americans-basic-freedoms-and-also-cant-denounce-nazis\/\",\"name\":\"Meet Michael Whatley: A Trump-Backed, Election-Denying MAGA Extremist Who Wants To Rip Away Americans\u2019 Basic Freedoms (And Also Can\u2019t Denounce Nazis) - 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