Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) referred to as out Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) after she mentioned in a speech Wednesday she agreed with President Donald Trump’s motive on tariffs.
“The ‘tariff hammer’ winds up hitting your own hand rather than the nail,” Polis posted Wednesday on X, together with a video of Whitmer’s speech. “Tariffs are bad outright because they lead to higher prices and destroy American manufacturing. Trade is inherently good because both parties emerge better off from a consensual transaction. While sanctions (Russia, Iran) can have a geopolitical national security role, it should always be considered eyes wide open that sanctions harm both ourself and others.”
In her “Build, America, Build” deal with Wednesday in Washington, D.C., Whitmer mentioned she agrees with Trump on his “motivation behind the tariffs.”
“I understand the motivation behind the tariffs, and I can tell you here’s where President Trump and I do agree,” she mentioned. “We do need to make more stuff in America — more cars and chips, more steel and ships. We do need fair trade.”
Within the speech, she laid out her technique for bringing extra manufacturing to America.
“Let’s give more hard-working people a fair shot at a decent life,” she mentioned. “And let’s usher in, as President Trump says, a ‘Golden Age’ of American manufacturing.”
However some have been important of Whitmer for her remarks. Whereas she didn’t explicitly point out Whitmer, Michigan state Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D) wrote Thursday on X, “There is no middle ground to be found with an administration that is wiping its ass with the constitution.”
Another prime Democrats informed NBC Information they thought Whitmer was “played” by Trump when she appeared within the Oval Workplace whereas Trump signed government orders in entrance of the press, together with one instructing federal businesses to probe former authorities officers who questioned Trump’s false declare that the 2020 election was stolen.
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“She’s really done an excellent job,” Trump mentioned about Whitmer, who was on the White Home to talk to Trump privately about points concerning Michigan, through the signings. “Very good person.”
A spokesperson for Whitmer informed NBC Information the governor was “surprised” she was introduced into the Oval Workplace “without any notice of the subject matter.”
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“Her presence is not an endorsement of the actions taken or statements made at that event,” a spokesperson mentioned.
Whitmer later informed reporters that she disagreed “with a lot of stuff that was said” within the Oval Workplace, however she stayed “because I needed to make the case for Michigan, and that’s my job.”
