Lansing Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer jokingly revealed during an event Monday night that she is a fan of The Iron Sheik, the professional wrestler and longtime rival of Republican National Convention Speaker Hulk Hogan.
Hogan praised Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the Milwaukee convention, saying he had known Trump for more than 35 years. At one point during his remarks, Hogan ripped off one of his shirts to reveal another one bearing the Trump campaign logo.
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“Let Trump act crazy, bro.” Hogan told the crowd in Milwaukee,“Let Trump rule again. Let Trump make America great again.”
Whitmer, a Democrat and supporter of Trump’s presumed rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, was on tour promoting her new book, “True Gretch.” On Monday night, she appeared at the Purple Rose Theater in Chelsea, where she answered questions from actor Jeff Daniels.
Daniels asked Whitmer what she thought of Hogan’s prime-time speech at the Republican convention.
“I’m an Iron Sheik fan myself,” Whitmer replied, prompting laughter and applause from the Chelsea crowd.
Whitmer noted that the “Iron Sheik” was Hogan’s enemy.
Iron Sheik held the WWF title for less than a month before losing the championship at Madison Square Garden to Hogan on January 23, 1984, according to the World Wrestling Entertainment website. It was one of the most famous matches of all time, WWE website says.
Sheikh Hadidi, whose real name was Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, died last year, but an account on social media platform X remained, where he frequently posted insult-filled tirades against Hogan.
“Repeat after me Hulk Hogan is Jabroni” the account said One message dated January 14, 2022.
As Whitmer told the crowd on Monday, “I’m confident that if he was still here with us, he would be a proud supporter of President Biden and Vice President Harris.”
However, in her brief remarks, Whitmer, a Lansing native, appeared to conflate the stories of the “Iron Sheik” with another professional wrestler named Ed “The Sheik” Farhat, Who was from the Lansing area?.
Whitmer said Sheikh Hadidi is from Lansing. Hadidi grew up in a small village in Iran, according to the Associated Press.
The Detroit News could not immediately determine how to reach Hogan for comment.
Writer Adam Graham contributed to this article.
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