The race to 2028 has begun, and Gretchen Whitmer has already hit a stumbling block.
The Democratic Michigan governor stood uncomfortably on the sidelines of the Oval Office on Wednesday as President Donald Trump signed a fresh flurry of executive orders, including one that targeted a former Homeland Security official for defending the integrity of the 2020 presidential election—and Democrats aren’t happy with the appearance.
Trump introduced Whitmer in the Oval Office, claiming he was “honored” to have her at the White House, claiming “she’s been, she’s really done an excellent job, very good person.”
Whitmer came to the White House to discuss Michigan issues in a private meeting with Trump but ended up exchanging pleasantries with the president in front of the cameras.
“Just a f—ing disaster,” a Democratic operative told NBC News. “It feels like it removes some of the momentum she had as a politically savvy swing-state Dem.”
Another national Democratic strategist told NBC that Whitmer got “absolutely played by Donald Trump to the point she is caught in the Oval Office as he signs one of his revenge and retribution executive orders and says 2020 was rigged.”
“Whitmer hurt her candidacy today,” another Democrat said. “She looked and sounded nervous in the Oval Office. That visual will stick. So will the image of Trump praising her as he signed executive orders targeting his critics.”
.@POTUS: “We’re honored to have @GovWhitmer from the great state of Michigan… we’re working on the Selfridge Air Base… I think we’ll come home with a winner for Michigan.” pic.twitter.com/NRy8adenx8
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 9, 2025
Trump briefly chatted with Whitmer in between signing executive orders as they discussed federal investment in Michigan’s Selfridge Air National Guard Base and an invasive species of fish threatening Lake Michigan.
“I want to put that down: It really is bipartisan,” Trump said of efforts to address issues in Michigan. “We’re going to get it done and we’ll all stand there together and cut a ribbon. OK, Gretchen? Good, thank you very much.”
A Democratic official who used to work with Whitmer told NBC that her interactions with Trump show how she “is very good at advocating for her state,” adding that “President Trump clearly listens to what she says and what she does.”
A spokesperson for Whitmer later told reporters that the governor was “surprised that she was brought into the Oval Office during President Trump’s press conference without any notice of the subject matter.”
“Her presence is not an endorsement of the actions taken or statements made at that event,” the spokesperson said.
Across the aisle, a Republican strategist told NBC that Whitmer’s Oval Office appearance “f––ed Republicans in Michigan by saying Whitmer is doing an excellent job.”
“I mean, WTF, she is running to replace him in 2028,” the strategist said.
The “tariff hammer” winds up hitting your own hand rather than the nail. Tariffs are bad outright because they lead to higher prices and destroy American manufacturing. Trade is inherently good because both parties emerge better off from a consensual transaction. While sanctions… https://t.co/ae1WpMbNbH
— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) April 9, 2025
Whitmer also drew flak for a Washington speech on Wednesday where she said that she was “not against tariffs outright” following days of staggering market volatility driven by Trump’s chaotic tariff rollout.
“These last few days have been really tough on Michigan,” she said. “I’m not against tariffs outright, but it is a blunt tool. You can’t just pull out the tariff hammer to swing at every problem without a clearly defined end goal.”
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis reposted a clip of Whitmer’s speech on X to scorch tariffs as “bad outright because they lead to higher prices and destroy American manufacturing.”
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