WASHINGTON — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer laid out what she called a “consistent national strategy” for bringing manufacturing back to the United States in a lengthy speech Wednesday in the nation's capital, just hours after President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the United States’ largest trading partners briefly went into effect.
After she highlighted her work in Michigan to boost manufacturing, Whitman, a Democrat in her second term, told attendees: “Here’s my pitch: Let’s keep going. Let’s make more ships, planes and semiconductor chips in America. Let’s cut red tape and unleash the extraordinary potential of American industry.”
“Let’s give more hard-working people a fair shot at a decent life. And let’s usher in, as President Trump says, a 'Golden Age' of American manufacturing,” she added.
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The speech was a notable political foray outside Michigan for a Democrat seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, though Whitmer brushed off a question after the speech about any future political ambitions. She focused not only on policy goals but also broadly on the idea of re-establishing trust and the ability to work across party lines at a time when rank-and-file Democrats are looking for the party to fight Trump harder. She referred to partisanship as a disease, telling attendees, “Partisanship seems to have infected every aspect of our lives, and it’s exhausting."
The way Whitmer handled Trump also stood out — she mentioned him more than a handful of times, first criticizing his tariff plan but later highlighting the work he did during his first term to achieve what she called their shared goals.
She first called the tariffs a "triple whammy: higher costs, fewer jobs and more uncertainty," before she found common ground with Trump's stated goals.
“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 — more cars and chips, more steel and ships. We do need fair trade,” she said.
Several hours after the speech, Trump announced that he would pause retaliatory tariffs on most nations for 90 days.
But even in front of a national audience, Whitmer maintained the bipartisan message she has preached in Michigan all year, telling attendees, “We should be able to celebrate good policy no matter where it comes from and also criticize bad policy no matter where it comes from.”
She blamed the spread of one-sidedness on "opportunistic politicians, cynical media figures and addictive algorithms."
In a question-and-answer session with journalist Gretchen Carlson after the speech, Whitmer elaborated on that point, saying, “We’re never going to find common ground without talking to each other.”
“We have a duty and an oath to try to get things done, to put the welfare of the people of Michigan before our own interests, before our political interests, and to stay at the table to find the common ground in something,” she added.
Whitmer addressed criticisms of her bipartisan approach in the post-speech conversation.
“I get it, I understand why people feel that way,” she told Carlson when she was asked about the 70% of Democrats who said, in a March CBS/YouGov poll, that they'd rather have congressional Democrats oppose Trump as much as possible than try to find common ground with him.
“I am as anxious and angry about a lot of the policies that are coming out of Washington, D.C., right now ... but I took an oath to the people of Michigan to try to get as much done for the state,” Whitmer added.
Later Wednesday, Whitmer appeared in the Oval Office in her second White House meeting in less than a month.
She and Michigan state House Speaker Matt Hall, a Republican, were with Trump as he signed several executive orders and memoranda.
One item directed the U.S. attorney general and the homeland security secretary to “take all appropriate action to review” the activities of Christopher Krebs, who oversaw the federal government’s top cybersecurity agency in 2020 and pushed back against Trump's stolen election claims. Another memorandum called on the homeland security secretary to assess the activities of former agency official Miles Taylor, a government employee during Trump's first term who had been critical of his conduct and handling of classified material.
A spokesperson said in a statement that Whitmer met with Trump "to discuss the northern Michigan ice storm, investing in Michigan’s defense assets, like Selfridge Air National Guard Base, tariffs and the importance of creating good-paying American jobs and bringing back critical supply chains, and keeping our Great Lakes clean and safe."
The spokesperson said Whitmer "was surprised that she was brought into the Oval Office" for the signing event and media availability "without any notice of the subject matter. Her presence is not an endorsement of the actions taken or statements made at that event.”
Trump to reporters he was "honored" to have Whitmer there.
"She’s really done an excellent job," he said.
Following Trump's remarks, a Republican strategist in Michigan told NBC News, "Trump literally just f---ed Republicans in Michigan by saying Whitmer is doing an excellent job. I mean, WTF, she is running to replace him in 2028.”
Despite her call for common ground, Whitmer emphasized Wednesday morning that she would still push back against Republicans’ attempts to stifle her constituents’ rights and freedoms.
“I will hold people accountable,” she said, adding, “I’ve also got to continue to make sure I’ve got a seat at the table so I can try to get important things done.”
Whitmer’s approach to the Trump administration — to take a seat at the table and focus on common ground — is at odds with the strategy some of her fellow Democratic governors are taking. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, for example, has taken a firm anti-Trump stance during Trump's second term.
Others, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, are staking a claim to the center of the political spectrum in recent media appearances and podcast episodes.
All four governors often top the list of rumored 2028 Democratic presidential contenders.
But when Carlson asked her directly whether she plans to run for president in three years, Whitmer laughed, saying, “No, no.”
“This is similar to the speeches I’ve given in Michigan, too, by the way," she said. "This is a blueprint for success. This is what we did in Michigan during World War II. This is what we are capable of as a nation. We need leadership that stays focused on these things.”
