Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) suggested she will not run in the 2028 presidential election, instead taking a backseat to assist the Democratic nominee.
Whitmer has been considered a 2028 presidential contender on the Democratic side.
“I anticipate helping, but I don’t know if I’m going to be the person,” she said in response to a question about whether she would run for president in 2028.
“I don’t know if I need to be the main character in the next chapter, but I want to have a hand in writing it,” she added. “And I think I’ve got an important vantage point as the governor of an important swing state.”
Whitmer’s term as governor expires on Jan. 1, 2027, and she is term-limited.
Other Democrats, such as Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD), former Vice President Kamala Harris, and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, have also been mentioned in the conversation about who Democrats want to lead them in 2028.
Whitmer’s name was briefly mentioned after former President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, but Harris quickly quashed any doubts about her ability to lead the party forward.
Since Harris lost, Whitmer has avoided confrontation with President Donald Trump, unlike fellow Gov. Newsom. The Michigan governor was pictured holding a folder over her face in April while Trump signed executive orders in the Oval Office. She went to meet with him about funding the Air National Guard.
She received criticism from within her party for working with Trump, but Whitmer insisted she wasn’t compromising her values. “It doesn’t mean I’ve abandoned any of my values. It doesn’t mean that I’m not gonna stand my ground,” she said after the meeting.
As of late, Whitmer has been pressing the White House, including the president’s Cabinet members and chief of staff, to “undo this tariff madness.”
“Not every governor has that kind of access,” she noted.
Whitmer warned that Michigan’s economy, which is tied to the auto industry, could be in trouble because of the tariffs on Canada. “This really is a dire moment in manufacturing,” she said.
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She then took the time to push back on Trump’s alleged attacks on free speech.
“You don’t take away their right to say whatever thing you don’t agree with. That’s what’s fundamental to a democracy,” she said. “And I worry that there are people in power who don’t believe that.”
