Gretchen Whitmer asked whether 'hidden xenophobia' will affect midterm elections

MS NOW anchor Peter Alexander asked Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., on Sunday whether Republican politicians were tapping into "xenophobia" ahead of the midterm elections. Alexander began his show "State of Play" on Monday remarking on the national attention given to the Michigan U.S. Senate race between Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed and GOP candidate Mike Rogers, which prompted campaign rally appearances by former President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump. The MS NOW host showed a clip of himself asking Whitmer over the weekend about what she thought about the "ugly recent rhetoric" levied against El-Sayed by Rogers and Trump, suggesting the attacks could be motivated by "xenophobia." ROGERS FIRES BACK AT WELKER OVER EL-SAYED'S MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD CONTROVERSY, 'YOU ARE GIVING HIM A PASS' "Do you worry that there is some hidden xenophobia in Michigan right now that Donald Trump and Mike Rogers are trying to tap into?" Alexander asked. "I think that Mike Rogers and Donald Trump hope that there is, and that they're trying to cultivate that," Whitmer responded. Later in the show, Alexander aired more of the interview, including a question about whether Whitmer believed the language Trump used to attack El-Sayed was "dangerous." Whitmer agreed that Trump's language was dangerous but added that the bigger issue was Republicans ignoring the state of the economy. FOX NEWS POLL: MICHIGAN VOTERS SPLIT BETWEEN EL-SAYED AND ROGERS "The point is that they're talking about anything other than the cost of living, which has gone up because of the decisions that this administration has made. You ask yourself, are you better off two years ago than you are today? I doubt very many Americans could say that they are," Whitmer said. Fox News Digital reached out to Whitmer's office and the El-Sayed and Rogers campaigns for comment but did not immediately receive responses. In a comment to Fox News Digital, White House Assistant Press Secretary Olivia Wales said, "President Trump is calling out the radical extremists stoking division, defrauding their communities, and perpetuating violence. The President will continue to unapologetically fight for American greatness and call out the extremists who want only to divide and destroy." ABDUL EL-SAYED'S ALLEGED FAMILY TIES TO MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD SURFACE AFTER DENYING ANY LINK DURING NBC INTERVIEW CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP Both Trump and Rogers have heavily criticized El-Sayed over allegations involving his family's ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.