Gretchen Whitmer goes to Washington with a call for bipartisanship to grow the economy

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 U.S.’ largest trading partners went into effect.

After highlighting her work in Michigan to boost manufacturing, the second-term Democrat 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,” Whitmer added.

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 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 like 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, mentioning the president 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 finding common ground with the president’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,” the governor said.

But even in front of a national audience, Whitmer maintained the bipartisan message she’s 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 following the speech with journalist Gretchen Carlson, 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.

In that post-speech conversation, Whitmer addressed criticisms of her approach, while also previewing her meeting later Wednesday with Trump, her second White House meeting in less than a month.

“I get it, I understand why people feel that way,” the governor told Carlson when 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 the president.

“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. 

Despite her call for common ground, Whitmer emphasized that she would still push back on attempts by Republicans 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.”

As an example of her ongoing bipartisan efforts, Whitmer told Carlson that Michigan state House Speaker Matt Hall, a Republican, is joining her meetings with Trump and several Cabinet officials on Wednesday. 

“I don’t know that I’ll make any ground” in those meetings, Whitmer said, “but I’m not going to cede the opportunity to talk about something that’s important to my state.”

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 so far during the president’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 asked directly by Carlson 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, » the governor 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.”