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LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a potential 2028 White House candidate, stood awkwardly in the Oval Office as President Donald Trump signed executive orders and assailed his political opponents on Wednesday, not long after she delivered a speech nearby that offered soft criticism of him but emphasized shared priorities.
At the top of his remarks, Trump praised the second-term Democratic governor as a “very good person” who has done an “excellent job" — a sharp departure from his tone in his first presidency toward Whitmer, once one of his fiercest opponents. She was feet from his desk when he later signed a pair of memoranda directing the Justice Department to investigate two of his critics and signed an executive order exacting retribution against a law firm whose work he opposed.
Whitmer's office later said in a statement that she was “surprised” that she was brought into the Oval Office and that "her presence is not an endorsement of the actions taken or statements made at that event.”
Whitmer was in Washington to deliver a “Build, America, Build” address in which she called for bipartisan cooperation to strengthen American manufacturing. She was at the White House for her second one-on-one meeting with Trump in less than a month, this time to talk about tariffs that were expected to disproportionately affect Michigan, whose economy is closely tied to an auto industry reliant on trade with Canada, Mexico and other countries.
Whitmer’s approach stands in stark contrast to that of other high-profile Democratic governors, many of whom are also seen as potential contenders for the party’s 2028 presidential nomination. But Whitmer faces a more challenging political landscape than leaders such as Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker or California Gov. Gavin Newsom as she represents a state with a divided state legislature and that went for Trump in two of the last three elections.
But even Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, the Democratic governor of a state that voted for Trump in 2024, has taken a more critical approach toward Trump, telling reporters Tuesday that Trump is “looking to screw over our farmers” with tariffs.
In her speech Wednesday, which came before Trump announced he was pausing tariffs in most nations except for China, Whitmer highlighted areas of agreement with Trump on tariffs but criticized how they had been implemented.
“I understand the motivation behind the tariffs, and I can tell you, here’s where President Trump and I do agree. We do need to make more stuff in America,” said Whitmer, before adding, “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 clear defined end-goal.”
Once one of Trump’s most vocal critics during his first term and the campaign trail last year, Whitmer has adopted a more measured tone toward the president since his reelection, delivering multiple speeches in which she has called for finding “common ground.”
“If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu,” Whitmer said during a discussion after her speech. “My oath to the people of Michigan is to continue to show up, even when it means I’m going to get my lunch handed to me.”
Colorado's Democratic Gov. Jared Polis directly responded to Whitmer's speech Wednesday, saying the “tariff hammer” Whitmer referred to “winds up hitting your own hand rather than the nail.”
“Tariffs are bad outright because they lead to higher prices and destroy American manufacturing,” Polis said on social media.
Pritzker has remained a leading voice of state-level opposition to Trump, sharply criticizing the new tariffs this week. Meanwhile, Newsom appealed directly to international partners, urging them to spare his state from retaliatory measures and declaring, “California is not Washington, D.C.”
Whitmer says reindustrialization will take time
Whitmer's balance was seen in her address Wednesday and the conversation with former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson afterward. She agreed with Trump on the need to build more in America but made it clear that she disagrees with his approach to tariffs, emphasizing that such a shift “doesn’t happen overnight.”
“There’s not a shortcut here. Strategic reindustrialization must be a bipartisan project that spans multiple presidential administrations,” Whitmer said in her address. “We need to be strategic about tariffs on the technology we actually want to make in America.”
Whitmer — who has less than two years left in office because of term limits — has spent much of this year traveling outside Michigan on international trade trips and visits to Washington, D.C., and other states, following a 2024 in which she dedicated considerable time campaigning for fellow Democrats.
Despite this, she reiterated on Wednesday that she is not signaling a run for president in 2028, though her speech is unlikely to quiet the speculation.
“This year and in the years to come — no matter who’s in the White House — we need to be betting on American workers. We need to bring chip manufactures back home. Let’s dominate the seas and the skies and the roads. Let’s innovate and let’s build,” Whitmer said in closing.
