Nesbitt AI campaign video showing Whitmer and other top Dems getting attacked draws criticism

A campaign video, generated using artificial intelligence and posted by Senate Majority Leader Aric Nesbitt in his bid for governor, has drawn criticism for promoting political violence.

The video, which was posted on Tuesday morning to Nesbitt’s campaign Facebook page, depicts AI versions of top Democrats, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State and gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, being attacked— and ends showing Whitmer about to be run over by a figure driving a tractor.

“This AI-generated video from Aric Nesbitt is disgusting and uses violent and inflammatory imagery—and it comes as a man was charged just days ago with threatening the State Capitol,” Michigan Democratic Party spokesperson Derrick Honeyman said in a statement. “Political violence is unacceptable and it’s up to Nesbitt’s fellow Republicans to call him out.”

A spokesperson for Whitmer’s office referred Michigan Advance to the Michigan Democratic Party statement.

Nesbitt has frequently criticized Democrats for what he has called “violence and insanity,” which he has alleged is promoting or advocating for political violence. 

After protesters at Lansing’s July 2025 No Kings protest had a sign reading “86/47,” Nesbitt posted on Facebook that “Calling for the President to be assassinated from the steps of our Capitol is grotesque.”

Trump supporters have interpreted that combination as a threat against the president, since “86” is a slang term for removing something and “47” could be seen as a reference to Trump as the 47th president. That definition formed the basis of an indictment against former FBI Director James Comey in April for a photo he took of seashells arranged in that configuration.

When asked to comment on whether he believed his statements then could be considered hypocritical in the wake of this most recent campaign video, Nesbitt issued a statement that didn’t address that point nor whether the video had the potential to be perceived as violent. 

“The only thing getting run over here is the Whitmer legacy. After eight years of higher costs, economic stagnation, and scandal, Michigan voters are ready to leave those failed policies behind,” Nesbitt said in a statement to the Advance. “The video reflects what voters already know: the politicians responsible for Michigan’s decline don’t get to escape accountability simply because they’re trying to rebrand themselves for the next election.”

But others were not convinced — Joe Spaulding, who served as campaign director for the state’s ranked choice voting ballot proposal, posted a criticism of Nesbitt’s video, noting that just days prior, a Hawaii man was charged by the U.S. Department of Justice for threatening to kill Whitmer. 

Nesbitt’s video was also posted the same day as a panel of Court of Appeals judges overturned the conviction of Joseph Morrison, who had been sentenced in 2022 for his connection to the plot to kidnap Whitmer.

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) pointed this out in a press release from her U.S. Senate campaign, “On the same day as this dangerous ruling, the Republican Senate Minority Leader – who’s asking Michiganders to trust him as their next Governor – put out an AI-generated video that implies he would drive over Governor Whitmer with his tractor.”

Today: a court vacated a conviction in the plot to kidnap Gov. Whitmer. Also today: State Senate GOP Leader and candidate for Governor Aric Nesbitt dropped an AI video depicting him running Whitmer over with a tractor. https://t.co/osAvkSBzjS

— Mallory McMorrow (@MalloryMcMorrow) June 9, 2026

And though the comments on Nesbitt’s post seemed to generate positive attention from his supporters, others, even in Republican circles, were not so supportive of the campaign play.

Dennis Lennox, a longtime Republican consultant, also posted to X a succinct response to the same video, “What an embarrassment.”

Some suggested that the video was an attempt to draw much-needed attention to Nesbitt’s gubernatorial campaign, which the Michigan Democratic Party called “floundering” in their statement.

“This video is also another reminder of how far Nesbitt’s career has fallen as his campaign is locked in the single digits in polling and he’s even facing calls from Republicans to either drop out of the governor’s race or step down as Senate Minority Leader,” Honeyman’s statement said. “We know Nesbitt is doing this because he’s desperate for any attention he can get, but that is still not an excuse for peddling violent rhetoric.”

Adrian Hemond, the CEO of political consulting firm Grassroots Midwest, also told the Advance, “Sen. Nesbitt’s campaign needs a jolt of attention and money. This won’t help with the latter, but probably a little with the former.”

In the lead-up to the Aug. 4 primary, Nesbitt has struggled to gain traction over some of his opponents. A poll conducted in mid-May by GOP firm 1892 Polling showed Nesbitt at 7% in the Republican gubernatorial primary, well behind both U.S. Rep. John James (R-Shelby Township) and businessman Perry Johnson and tied with former Attorney General Mike Cox.