Watch: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s full speech at Democratic Convention
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer endorsed Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in her speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
President Donald Trump’s charm offensive aimed at Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is once again entangling the Michigan Democrat in a sticky game of optics that could be used against her should she make a White House bid in 2028.
This time it’s over embracing the commander-in-chief, who was in town announcing a new fighter jet mission for an Air National Guard base in the state, which represents a significant win for the governor amid fears of it closing.
Joanne Carducci, a popular liberal political commentator on social media, known as JoJoFromJerz, questioned the move from Whitmer X. “A hug?!?”
Whitmer, who co-chaired Kamala Harris’ 2024 campaign, had been an outspoken critic of Trump, but since last year’s election she is one of a few Democrats who has vowed to work with him on issues that benefit Michigan residents.
She had been lobbying for a new mission at the base, which she argued will protect an estimated $850 million impact on the state’s economy. Asked about the hug, Whitmer downplayed the gesture.
“It’s so funny that people are like, ‘oh, they were hugging.’ He leaned and he said, ‘You know, we’re here because of the work that you did,’ and I thought that was really nice of him to say,” Whitmer said in an April 29 phone interview with the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network.
“And so he just leaned in and said that as I shook his hand. That was all.”
But in an attention-seeking social media landscape where Democratic are expressing anger at their own party for failing to effectively block much of Trump 2.0’s blitzing use of executive authority, Whitmer is risking what could be a critical misstep in a future primary.
Just a few weeks ago, for example, she was the center of a viral moment after covering her face with file folders to block photographers when Trump unexpectedly called upon her to join a news conference in the Oval Office.
The 53-year-old former prosecutor was in Washington to deliver a major speech that touched on Trump’s trade war and rebounding the Wolverine State’s well-known manufacturing history. But much like the hug stepped on the larger point of supplementing the military base, images of Whitmer hiding behind the folders added to a narrative that Democrats are feeble in the face of Trump’s power and influence.
“I kinda wish I hadn’t put my folder up in front of my face but, whatever,” Whitmer said at an April 14 forum at the Detroit Economic Club.
Whitmer wages charm offensive against Trump as other Dems attack
As much as Trump enjoys skewering his rivals, the president has lauded Whitmer on multiple occasions since returning to power.
“We’re honored to have Gretchen Whitmer from Michigan, great state of Michigan… she’s really done an excellent job. A very good person,” Trump said during the April 9 press event in the Oval Office.
During Tuesday’s visit, he continued heaping praise on Whitmer, who he credited for lobbying to save the base. She returned the favor during brief remarks Tuesday by expressing appreciation in the president without mentioning his name while standing next to Trump.
Whitmer has repeatedly expressed her desire to find common ground with Trump, an approach some Michigan Democrats have criticized but that isn’t unlike California Gov. Gavin Newsom, another rumored 2028 contender, who has been slammed by the activist left for showering the president with praise during a visit surveying wildfire damage.
Other Democratic governors in the 2028 rumor mill, such as JB Pritzker of Illinois, are taking a different approach, by calling for mass protests against Trump while also slamming “do-nothing” Democrats.
“These Republican annot know a moment of peace,” Pritzker said at a New Hampshire Democratic party dinner. “They must understand that we will fight their cruelty with every megaphone and microphone that we have.”
But Whitmer has stayed her course of mostly staying on Trump’s good side despite some hiccups.
Asked if a little bit of embarrassment was worth the base announcement, Whitmer told USA TODAY Network: “Absolutely.”
Contributing: Clara Hendrickson