Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer threw chilly water Thursday on the thought of a 2028 presidential bid, saying that whereas “there will be a robust group of people running for president, I will not be one of them.”
Whitmer made the feedback in an interview with Fox 2 Detroit whereas discussing her plans after she leaves workplace subsequent yr.
Saying that she was “looking forward to taking a little bit of a break” after leaving workplace, and “not jumping right into something,” Whitmer mentioned she’d “gotten counsel” from former authorities officers similar to former Rhode Island Gov. and Commerece Secretary Gina Raimondo, former Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and former GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan.
A well-liked two-term governor from a premier battleground state, Whitmer has lengthy been seen as a prime potential contender in the 2028 Democratic presidential main. She was a finalist in former President Joe Biden’s 2020 vice presidential search and has spent years burnishing a nationwide profile.
But Whitmer’s tenure has additionally included a number of high-profile stumbles – together with an notorious look at Trump’s White House final yr throughout which she was captured holding a folder as much as conceal her face as cameras in the room snapped photographs.
Whitmer has lengthy given blended alerts about her intentions in 2028.
“I don’t know if I need to be the main character in the next chapter, but I want to have a hand in writing it, and I think I’ve got an important vantage point as the governor of an important swing state,” she advised Canadian journalist Steve Paikin final fall.