Gretchen Whitmer Says She Is not Trying For A Struggle (But)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Few Democrats have gotten as a lot consideration for preventing Donald Trump as Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, whose battles with the previous and future president in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic first vaulted her onto the nationwide stage.

However with Trump’s inauguration simply days away, Whitmer plans to ship a public message that she’s prepared to work with him ― no less than if he’s prepared to work together with her, and relying on what he truly tries to do.

The message will come on Wednesday morning, when Whitmer offers a speech specializing in financial coverage on the annual Detroit Auto Present. It should embrace a transparent warning that the tariffs Trump has proposed may damage the auto trade greater than they assist, by disrupting provide traces throughout the Canadian border, elevating the costs of uncooked supplies and triggering a commerce conflict that may diminish exports.

However the speech can even embrace a recognition that Trump carried her state within the November election ― and that, in Whitmer’s view, the voters “expect us to find common ground” on fixing on a regular basis issues. “I don’t want to pretend we’ll always get along,” Whitmer will say, in accordance with excerpts her employees shared with HuffPost, “but I will always seek collaboration first.”

Precisely what these phrases will imply in apply is tough to say, particularly provided that the ready textual content additionally features a promise that Whitmer “won’t back down” from political battles. However the speech comes in the midst of a contentious debate amongst Democrats over whether or not to battle ― and, if that’s the case, how exhausting ― over every thing from aggressive Republican immigration proposals to Trump’s most controversial Cupboard nominees.

In a quick phone interview on Tuesday, Whitmer acknowledged that broader debate going down amongst Democrats and stated her remarks place her “somewhere in the middle” of it.

“I’ve had outreach from some of my colleagues who are fighting, taking up that mantra, and I said, ‘You know, listen, Michigan is very different, and my job is to deliver for the people of Michigan, and my ability to do that requires that I have the opportunity to work with the new administration,’” Whitmer stated. “I care about getting stuff done, and finding common ground is a better way to do it than starting from a war footing.”

Whitmer’s ideas on these issues are of explicit curiosity as a result of she has gained two convincing victories in her politically divided, electorally important state. A number of activists, funders and officers suppose she may make a robust presidential candidate if she decides to run in 2028 ― though Whitmer, to be clear, says she is targeted strictly on how you can govern now that Republicans are taking management of 1 home of the Michigan Legislature, in addition to the White Home and Congress.

“I know that there are a lot of folks out there jockeying to be the leader of the opposition ― that’s not me,” Whitmer stated, including, “My first job is to see if I can find partners and find collaboration, and that’s what I’m out to do. The people of Michigan elected Donald Trump twice, they elected me twice, both within two years of each other. And here we are.”

That Whitmer would stake out this place isn’t totally shocking given her personal political historical past. Republicans have managed no less than one of many state’s legislative chambers (and normally each) for many of her 20-plus years in state politics, and through that point she has ceaselessly talked up the virtues of compromise.

Her greatest achievement as a state senator was working with Michigan’s then-Republican governor to cross a invoice that expanded the state’s Medicaid program. When she first grew to become governor, she targeted on reforming auto insurance coverage and “fixing the damn roads,” in each instances by negotiating with Republicans who had majorities in each homes.

However whereas the auto insurance coverage bundle got here collectively, the street funding deal didn’t. After which the pandemic hit. When each Trump and Michigan Republicans attacked her over public well being orders, she fought again over the GOP politicizing the disaster and, in Trump’s case, offering inadequate assist from Washington.

Two years later, she took up one other battle ― this time, for reproductive freedom. After the U.S. Supreme Court docket overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, Whitmer acted rapidly to guard abortion rights in Michigan whereas campaigning for a poll initiative to make these protections everlasting ― reminding voters, all alongside, that with out Trump’s appointments to the excessive courtroom, Roe would nonetheless be regulation.

Within the interview, Whitmer recommended she was prepared to place previous acrimony apart if there are locations the place she and the brand new White Home can work collectively. “I’ve been in this situation before,” she stated, referring to collaborations with Republicans in her state.

Among the many points on which that may come into play is the way forward for electrical car subsidies, that are an enormous deal to Michigan’s auto trade.

Trump has promised to repeal what he’s been calling the “EV mandate,” claiming it’s pushing American producers away from extra worthwhile traces of enterprise. Whitmer, in the course of the 2024 presidential marketing campaign, repeatedly blasted Trump for that place, arguing that taking away the assist would undermine the increase in EV manufacturing unit development and employment ― and put American firms at an obstacle globally whereas China and the remainder of the world transfer towards electrification.

When requested whether or not she noticed the EV debate as a spot to oppose Trump extra strongly, she reiterated her perception that backing electrical car manufacturing is important to maintain Detroit’s producers aggressive. However she additionally described the scenario as “an opportunity for education.”

“Education” appears to be the method she’s taking up one other subject of important curiosity to automakers ― particularly, Trump’s promise to impose steep tariffs on all imported items. Whitmer, in her remarks, plans to say that she’s “not opposed to tariffs outright” whereas warning that such a broad change may backfire, particularly the efforts to focus on Canada.

“Think about this: 70% of all the auto parts we make in Michigan go directly to our neighbors,” Whitmer plans to say. “Every time a Michigan auto part crosses over the border and gets taxed, those costs will be passed on to you at the dealership. Sometimes it happens a couple times throughout production. That means you’ll pay more to buy a Silverado, fix the engine in your Mustang or replace the fender on your Jeep Grand Cherokee.”

In relation to immigration ― maybe the problem most central to Trump’s presidential marketing campaign ― Whitmer stated didn’t need to “draw red lines” publicly about what sorts of Trump strikes may immediate her to protest loudly or to refuse state cooperation, as some different native and state officers have already threatened. One purpose, she stated, is that she’s ready to see how aggressively Trump acts as soon as he truly assumes workplace.

“We’ve done a lot of planning for a variety of scenarios,” Whitmer stated. “We also know that candidates say things on the campaign trail and then sometimes it’s different from what they do once they take office. I’m not suggesting that it should be underappreciated how serious they are. I’m saying we don’t know what they’re going to do until they get there.”

However Whitmer added that, in gaming out the chances of how she may reply to mass deportations and different actions, “I take very seriously the use of state resources and fundamental rights of human beings.”

Whitmer additionally pledged to battle any additional assaults on reproductive rights, citing the overwhelming approval for state protections by Michigan’s voters in 2022. And he or she stated she intends to proceed talking out on behalf of the LGBTQ+ group, citing not solely a not too long ago enacted state regulation enshrining these rights but in addition her emotions as a mum or dad.

“As the mom of a gay woman, I can tell you that getting Michigan on the right side of the law was really one of the things I’m most proud of from the last two years, and this is something I take very seriously,” Whitmer stated.

Requested concerning the potential battle between discovering widespread floor with Trump and his allies on some points whereas pledging to withstand their efforts on others, Whitmer stated, “I can do both.”