Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel vowed to “protect our state” from “fascist” President Donald Trump at the Democratic Party convention over the weekend, when she said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was running a “fool’s errand.”
“When I first ran for Attorney General, I pledged to protect our state and protect our country – I’m not walking that promise back now,” Nessel posted to X on Sunday, along with a clip of her remarks at the convention. “Negotiating with fascists is a fool’s errand.”
When I first ran for Attorney General, I pledged to protect our state and protect our country — I’m not walking that promise back now.
Negotiating with fascists is a fool’s errand. pic.twitter.com/y9eQEt7vst
— Dana Nessel (@dananessel) February 23, 2025
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Nessel told attendees that “even though you see a lot of people sticking their heads in the sand and acting like this isn’t happening, and going along to get along, you can’t negotiate with a wanna be dictator.”
Whitmer did not attend the convention, opting instead to jet to the National Governors Association dinner at the White House on Saturday, when she sat next to Trump in a decidedly different approach to the 47th POTUS.
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“I took an oath of office to the people of Michigan, and it means putting Michigan’s interests above my own or above my political party’s interests,” Whitmer told the Detroit Free Press Sunday. “You can’t have a conversation about things that matter if you’re not in the room.”
Whitmer told the news site Trump called her a week prior to invite her to meet with him, and she used the NGA dinner to accept that invitation.
“I said, ‘You’ve invited me to come and meet with you. I would like to do that because I’d like to talk to you about a number of things,'” she said.
Those things include a massive advanced manufacturing mega site in Genesee County that has already gained approval from the state for $250 million in taxpayer-funded incentives, as well as a potential fighter jet mission at Selfridge Air National Guard Base and staffing at the Gordie Howe International Bridge in Windsor, Bridge Michigan reports.
Whitmer discussed the guard base with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and the bridge staffing with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Saturday, and plans to follow up on those discussions and talks on the mega site and tariffs with Trump at their upcoming meeting, she said.
“If you’re not in the room and you’re not a part of the conversation, you can’t assume your priorities are going to get met,” Whitmer told Bridge on Sunday.
“That’s why I always show up, no matter who’s in the White House,” she said. “I think it’s important to show up, and that’s my job as governor.”
The governor, who is angling to replace Trump in 2028, also pushed back on critics who contend she’s not doing enough to fight the 47th POTUS’ recent executive orders, which Nessel is challenging in court.
“I know that there will be times when we’re not on the same page and we’ll be at odds,” Whitmer told Bridge of her relationship with Trump, but “If I can find common ground, I’m going to do that.”
Whitmer would not divulge to the Free Press whether the manufacturing mega site in Genesee County’s Mundy Township is contingent upon federal funding, but state Rep. Jasper Martus, D-Flushing, told reporters in January the plans are awaiting federal approval, according to the news site.
“For me whose district is one street away from this, the idea that ten thousand plus jobs could be created in Genesee after decades and decades of underinvestment, I will put a construction hat on whoever’s president to land this deal,” he said on Jan. 13.
Whitmer, who will deliver her State of the State address on Wednesday, was reappointed by Trump last week to the bipartisan Council of Governors, which advises agencies on national security, The Union Journal reports.
During Trump’s first term, Whitmer repeatedly clashed with the 45th POTUS over the governor’s crushing edicts during COVID and other issues, prompting Trump to refer to her as “that woman from Michigan.”
Whitmer alleged Trump was “complicit” in her alleged FBI orchestrated kidnapping plot, and blamed Trump for “a surge of vicious attacks” on her during the pandemic.