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Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer defended her meetings with President Donald Trump during an appearance on Pod Save America on Thursday.
The possible 2028 presidential candidate and swing state Democratic leader argued that her interactions with the Republican president were about getting things done, not furthering her political self-interest.
“It doesn’t mean I’ve abandoned any of my values. It doesn’t mean that I’m not going to stand my ground,” she said on the podcast. “This is one of those moments where as a public servant, you’re reminded your job is to put service above self, and that’s what it was all about.”
“One of the things that I’ve learned is I’ve got to put the people in Michigan first over my self-interest, over maybe what people assume are going to be my political interests,” Whitmer argued.
The governor also spoke about the viral photo of her in the Oval Office hiding her face with a folder as Trump signed executive orders last month.
“No one reported that I left the room to go talk to my staff person. I said, ‘We’ve got to get word out because the stuff that’s going on in there—I cannot be associated with that. I do not endorse that. I’m not here for that,’” she recalled. “But I had to stay and have my meeting after that was done.”
Previously she told Politico she regretted the incident: “I wouldn’t have put my folder in front of my face, because that just gave people fodder.” She added: “One of the things I hope people have learned about me is whether it is threats during a pandemic, or it is ridicule from an Oval Office meeting, I’m always putting people of Michigan first. I put the people of Michigan before my self interest because that’s my job, and I take my job seriously.”
While she was in the Oval Office, Trump signed executive orders targeting his political enemies – including Christopher Krebs, an election security official in his first administration who had said that the 2020 election Trump lost had been free and fair.
After the meeting in the Oval Office, a Whitmer spokesperson told the press that she was surprised that she was brought into the office.
“Her presence is not an endorsement of the actions taken or statements made at that event,” the spokesperson said.
During the meeting, they discussed the rejuvenation of the Selfridge Air National Guard Base in the state.
Whitmer appeared with Trump on Tuesday at the base as the president announced that new fighter jets would be brought there. The governor told Politico it was “a BFD for my state.”
“So I want to thank Governor Gretchen Whitmer for bringing [Selfridge] to our attention,” said Trump, noting that she has “done a very good job, frankly.”
The governor appeared unconcerned about the prospect that her interaction with the president may damage her standing with voters.
“It means showing up at the Oval Office and maybe having people, pundits take shots at me for being there,” she noted. “They don’t care whether or not I held a folder in a picture. They don’t care. They care if they’re going to have a job.”
English (US) ·