Detroit Police Chief Blasts Governor Whitmer Ahead of Potential Candidacy Bid: ‘America Isn’t A Monarchy’

During a speech Tuesday, former Detroit police chief and potential Republican gubernatorial challenger James Craig likened Democratic Governor Whitmer’s administration to a monarchical reign, urging Michigan voters to declare “independence” from it.

“Please listen to me, Governor Whitmer,” Craig said. “America isn’t a monarchy. We aren’t ruled by kings and queens. We ended that back in 1776.”

“Make no mistake, at the ballot box in the year of 2022, we will be celebrating our independence from the rule of Governor Whitmer,” he added.

Craig blasted Whitmer’s management of the pandemic in Michigan, nodding to the prolonged punitive COVID policies that kept the state locked down for many months, while the governor defied her administration’s own travel restrictions.

The possible GOP contender outlined his personal journey to the Republican Party. He said that he gravitated to the GOP after observing how government dependence, promoted by the Democratic Party, mired the African-American community in cyclical poverty. A retired leader in the police force, Craig also grew unsettled by the Democrats’ dwindling support for law enforcement.

“What I can’t respect is a victimhood mentality and that’s the mentality being pushed by today’s Democratic Party,” he commented.

“I was committed to personally remaining nonpolitical in my public role in keeping communities safe as police chief,” he said. “Privately, I found that my life experiences were leading me to vote Republican, including for President Trump in both elections.”

Craig, a big proponent of the Second Amendment, has stated in the past the importance of preserving law-abiding citizens’ right to arm and defend themselves.

“We don’t have a gun problem in America. What we have is a criminal problem. . . Criminals don’t follow the law. They’re going to get guns, so what do we want to focus on? Getting guns from law-abiding citizens? . . . It’s not about guns; it’s about criminals who have guns, and they don’t get the guns legally. That’s the bottom line,” Craig said recently on Fox News.

He’s also suggested that police-reform attempts have neglected the officers trying to perform their sworn duties and emboldened criminals.

While Craig has not yet officially announced his candidacy, he is expected to in the coming weeks.