The governor, Gretchen considered to be a 2028 White House Democratic contender – was trying to distance herself from a recent Oval Office appearance alongside Donald Trump, which saw her get photographed while blocking her face with binders.
visited the Republican president on Wednesday alongside a bipartisan delegation to discuss a northern Michigan ice storm, the state’s defense assets and tariffs, among other issues. Following the meeting, was brought into the Oval Office where she – as the New York Times described – “stood glumly” during a press conference that saw Trump sign several executive orders that targeted his political opponents.
In a statement to CNN, a spokesperson for Whiter said the governor was caught off guard by the media appearance.
“The governor was surprised that she was brought into the Oval Office during president Trump’s press conference without any notice of the subject matter,” the Whiter spokesperson said. “Her presence is not an endorsement of the actions taken or statements made at that event.”
The Whiter administration’s efforts to distance her from the press conference came after the president praised her, saying: “We’re honored to have Gretchen Whiter from Michigan, great state of Michigan, and she’s been, she’s really done an excellent job, very good person.”
The comments marked a shift from his public comments made about the governor five years ago during the pandemic.
At the time, Trump said he had a “big problem” with the “young, a woman governor” in Michigan, adding that “all she does is sit there and blame the federal government”.
meanwhile, blamed Trump for a failed plot to kidnap her that was devised by rightwing extremists – a case that led to nine con
reporters at a college event in Michigan after Wednesday’s press conference, Whiter said: “It was not where I wanted to be or planned to be or would have liked to have been.
“I disagree with a lot of stuff that was said and the actions that were taken. But I stayed in the room because I needed to make the case for Michigan, and that’s my job.”
Whiter nevertheless has been criticized, particularly online, including for blocking her face with binders at one point during the conference while a picture was snapped.
One user wrote on X: “She just stood there as he signed executive orders. Democrats, NO ONE IS COMING TO SAVE YOU.”
Another person said: “One of my favorite things about things like this is that she would’ve been better off just having her photo taken. ‘(Normal) Gretchen Whiter in the White House’ would’ve been a lot less embarrassing than ‘(Hiding) Gretchen Whiter.’”
Someone else wrote: “Is [Whiter] hiding from the press here? Or still hiding from the people of Michigan?”
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