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The Michigan governor on her memoir, her biggest wins leading the Great Lakes State and why every vote counts.
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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer blames former President Donald Trump for fomenting the divisiveness that led to the 2020 kidnapping plot against her. But after an assassination attempt on Trump earlier this year, Whitmer said it was on members of both parties to call out political violence.
“When I saw the shooting in Pennsylvania, I was so grateful that he was not killed or hurt beyond the ear,” Whitmer said Thursday at The Texas Tribune Festival. “But it's not okay all of a sudden to take on political violence and claim that it's your opponent that's stoking it. This has been fomenting in this country for too long, and it's on every one of us for us to hold one another accountable, not just people across the aisle, but within our own parties, too.”
“Whether it’s against [Supreme Court Justice] Brett Kavanaugh or it is against Donald Trump or me and my colleagues, we all should be taking a stand and calling it out and demanding that there are repercussions for people that play those games,” Whitmer continued.
Whitmer delivered the festival’s keynote address Thursday, presenting her recent book, “True Gretch: What I've Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between.” Whitmer discussed some of the biggest challenges she faced as Michigan’s second woman governor during a host of precedent breaking events, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the overturning of the nationwide right to abortion access.
She also discussed her own political future, including speculation about a future presidential run.
First elected governor in 2018, Whitmer catapulted to national attention during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic when over a dozen men attempted to kidnap her in response to her policies meant to contain the virus. Trump derided her as “that woman from Michigan” after she led initiatives to procure personal protective equipment independently of the Trump administration.
Whitmer said Trump’s remarks turned Republicans in her state, who had previously worked in tandem on pandemic response, against her. The ire against her crescendoed until violent men she labeled “domestic terrorists” began demonstrating outside of her home and the state Capitol, she said.
“We saw the former president stoke this over and over again, and I do think that his record contributed to this,” Whitmer said.
Whitmer’s profile has grown exponentially on the national stage since. She has served as vice chair of the Democratic National Convention since 2021. She provided the Democratic response to Trump’s 2020 State of the Union Address and was on the short list for Biden’s running list that year.
Whitmer was an ardent Biden supporter throughout his reelection campaign. She served as a national co-chair on the campaign, along with other close Biden allies such as Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar of El Paso.
Whitmer was often floated as a contender to be Harris’ running mate, but she quieted the chatter in July when she said she was staying in Michigan. Harris eventually selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
When asked Thursday night about her decision to pull herself from the pool to be Harris’ running mate, Whitmer said running for vice president would be “a big sacrifice” that would completely change the lives of everyone in Walz’s family.
“It's an honor without question. But also every person in his family is now in something that could change the rest of their lives, and had to make that decision in the span of a few weeks,” Whitmer said, alluding to the expedited vice presidential selection process after Harris became the presidential frontrunner when Biden dropped out.
Whitmer has come up as a potential presidential candidate in 2028 and 2032. The governor said a lot of attention has fallen on her because she’s from an important swing state and has achieved a string of electoral successes, including two double-digit gubernatorial elections. But she would not confirm or deny plans to run in the future.
When asked why she wrote her book — often an indicator of a future candidate’s intention to run for president — Whitmer deadpanned: “I just really didn’t have a lot to do.”
Whitmer also touched on her work fighting for abortion rights in Michigan, saying that it would be a major issue in this year’s elections.
“There’s no question in my mind that when Ohio, Kentucky and Kansas make strides on this issues that this is an important moment, and that Kamala Harris, who has been such a great vocal advocate and fighter for these freedoms, I think is going to pull a lot of those people out in this upcoming election,” Whitmer said.
Whitmer recounted her time in the Michigan Senate as Democratic leader, when she combatted a 2013 bill that would require women to buy additional health insurance for abortions. The bill passed in the Republican-controlled Legislature, despite personal appeals that included disclosing her own experience with sexual assault as a college freshman.
But 10 years later as governor, she signed the law’s repeal — a testament she said to political perseverance on the issue.
“These fights are worth having. We are in the majority on these fights,” Whitmer said. “They take longer than they should, and sometimes they're harder than they need to be, but we showed that day that we are on the right side of the issue.”
Whitmer warned that Michigan was not in the bag for the Harris camp. Despite a recent CNN poll that put Harris 5 points ahead of Trump in the state, Whitmer warned that poll did not take into consideration the three independent candidates on the Michigan ballot this year who could pull votes from Harris.
When asked what advice she would have for Harris to win Michigan, Whitmer said Harris should be authentic and shouldn’t try to tailor herself too much to different audiences. Harris could connect with Michigan voters through, unlike the billionaire mogul Trump, having “lived a normal life like most Americans have,” Whitmer said.
“Let Kamala be Kamala,” she said.
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