A 2021 video of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer referring to women as "people with a period" made the rounds again on Monday, bringing the debate over transgender rights to the forefront.
"A bipartisan tax cut will help reduce the economic burden of the cost of menstrual products, especially for lower-income Michiganders," Whitmer says in a TikTok video after signing legislation repealing the "tampon tax." "Saving people with a period from paying taxes on up to $4,800 in spending over the course of their lifetime."
“People with a period” 🤡. I wonder if @GovWhitmer can answer “what is a woman?” pic.twitter.com/Ia6ub2by3X
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 7, 2022
Whitmer’s GOP challenger Tudor Dixon was among those who blasted the governor.
“The word she refuses to say is ‘women,’” Dixon commented. “Gretchen Whitmer continues to devalue the existence and reality of women by referring to us as ‘people with periods.’”
Gretchen Whitmer is so afraid to say the word “women” that she went with the phrase, “people with a period” instead. How embarrassing.
— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) November 8, 2022
pic.twitter.com/vtNOUC2yqJ
This is disqualifying for Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
— 🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸 (@mrddmia) November 7, 2022
Time to toss out this “person with a period.” https://t.co/BHswZ326h0
Woke Whitmer is on the brink against @TudorDixon
— Jesse Hunt (@JJHunt10) November 7, 2022
Not hard to believe with Whitmer using phrases like “people with a period” 🙄
Guarantee Tudor isn’t afraid of the woke mob that doesn’t want to call women “women” pic.twitter.com/h8hzXvflVt
Whitmer and Dixon are in a tight race, where unlike in the rest of the country, abortion has remained a top issue as voters will also be deciding on a ballot measure that would codify abortion rights in the state's constitution.
According to the RealClearPolitics average, the closely watched race is ranked as a toss-up.