As Democratic governors have become vocal critics of President Trump, one governor’s response has been more muted.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is frequently mentioned as a possible contender for the 2028 presidential contest, has kept her focus on Michigan, a pivotal swing state Trump won in 2024.
Whitmer has been quiet as other potential Democratic contenders for the White House get louder and louder when it comes to battling the president and the GOP. She’s also shown a willingness to work with Trump, several times even appearing alongside him as she did this summer.
It’s a different approach from the likes of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has begun mocking Trump on social media with his imitations of the president. Some say it makes sense given the purple nature of Whitmer’s home state.
“Whitmer doesn’t have the type of opportunity to wave a magic wand and do something like some other governors like Gavin Newsom,” said Democratic strategist Joel Payne. “She’s in a state where the politics are different.”
“It feels like she’s focused on burnishing her credentials in Michigan. And she’s very much taken a different view on how to deal with Trump and Republicans in this era,” Payne added.
Democrats say the governor has made it a point not to try to outmaneuver Trump and Republican lawmakers. And she’s pushed back on the president when she’s felt it served her state’s interests.
This week, Whitmer asked Trump to appeal a decision made by his administration that denied families and businesses a chance to qualify for a disaster relief package after ice storms devastated parts of northern Michigan earlier this year.
“Michigan families and businesses deserve the support they need to recover from these storms,” the governor said in a statement. “That’s why I’m appealing [the administration’s] disaster aid denials.
“I’ll keep fighting like hell to deliver relief for our residents, local governments and utility providers,” she added.
Whitmer’s position with Trump and her tone within the party has caused some to wonder about her political ambitions. Those close to the governor and her team say she’s been focused on her state and isn’t interested in running for president.
“There are people around her who really want her to run but she doesn’t seem interested in running, at least right now,” one Democratic operative close to her team said.
Another strategist concluded the fact Whitmer isn’t hitting Trump is perhaps the biggest sign the governor doesn’t have her eyes on the 2028 presidential race.
“Gretchen Whitmer is focused on running her state, not running for president. Otherwise she’d probably be hitting Trump as hard as the guys thinking about 2028,” the strategist said.
Newsom is far from the only high-profile Democrat lashing out at Trump in headline-grabbing ways in recent weeks.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who both are also seen as potential presidential candidates, battled Trump this week over his threats to send the National Guard to cities in their states.
Pritzker and Trump battled over comments about their weights, while Moore said Trump seemed to be obsessed with him.
Newsom has not only taken on the strategy of mirroring the president’s social media and speaking patterns in press releases and posts, he’s also led a plan to redo the electoral maps in his state, in response to the redistricting efforts in Texas.
In Newsom’s case, his popularity among Democrats has surged, and a couple of new polls have him leading other potential 2028 contenders.
Strategists say it would be difficult for Whitmer to take the same tack as Newsom, Moore or Pritzker, who all represent true-blue states. Trump won Michigan in 2016 and again in 2024.
“Michigan is a far different state from California,” said Garry South, a Democratic strategist who is based in the Golden State and worked for Newsom. “There is no party registration in Michigan, but one can’t imagine it is even close to being as overwhelmingly Democratic as California since it voted for Trump two of three times he ran for president.
“Whitmer is a superstar Democratic governor but she doesn’t have anywhere close to the running room as Newsom, Pritzker, and Moore,” South said.
Democratic strategist Anthony Coley added that while Trump has been on the attack in Newsom and Pritzker’s states, “a natural opportunity simply hasn’t presented itself” for Whitmer.
In recent weeks, she has leaned into the work she’s done with the president to help her state on significant issues like tariffs and changes to Medicaid.
On tariffs, for example, Whitmer “particularly pressed” the president on Mexico and Canada tariffs that would negatively impact the auto industry and Michigan, the governor’s office told CNN in early August.
A May poll showed that Whitmer’s neutral stance is working. The survey by Impact Research, a Democratic polling firm, showed that more than 60 percent of Michigan voters approve of Whitmer. The poll also showed Whitmer is the most-liked state level Democrat in the country.
Payne said what Whitmer is doing is effectively landing with her constituents.
“It seems like she’s just trying to govern in her state and remain popular there and it’s working for her,” he said.
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