Gov. Gretchen Whitmer envisions a woman at the top of the ticket in 2028.
The term-limited Democrat offered her perspective on Sunday during a stop at the Tucson Festival of Books, where an audience member questioned whether Democrats should run another woman for president following Vice President Kamala Harris’ performance in 2024.
“Hell yes, right?” Whitmer said to applause.
The governor rejected the argument that the U.S. will never have a woman president.
“That’s baloney,” said Whitmer, who is considered a Democratic contender in 2028.
“People who say that have their own agenda,” including men angling for the top post, she said.
Whitmer argued Kamala Harris “did a remarkable job” in 2024 considering she launched her campaign “so late in the process,” Tucson.com reports.
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Other topics in Tucson included Whitmer’s perspective on countering President Donald Trump over the next four years, the president’s past criticism of the governor, and the alleged plot to kidnap Whitmer detailed in her book True Gretch: What I’ve Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between.
“These fights are not easy, they take longer than they should, but they are winnable if we stay focused and never give up,” Whitmer told the crowd of roughly 600.
The stop in Arizona is among the latest in a second-round tour for True Gretch following appearances on late-night talk shows, and events, bookstores, and other destinations in multiple states last year.
The 2025 tour, focused on the young adult version of the book, launched the same week the governor typically delivers her annual State of the State address, which was delayed this year until late February.
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“I’m so excited to introduce my new book, TRUE GRETCH-YOUNG ADULT EDITION to teens and readers across the country starting this month!” Whitmer posted to X in January. “I’ll be distributing signed copies of the book at @SchulerBooks at the end of the month, and then I’ll then be headed to New York City for an event @92ndStreetY in conversation with @BusyPhilipps on 1/27!”
“Stay tuned for updates soon about more upcoming tour stops in Traverse City, Ann Arbor, and across Michigan, as well as Washington D.C., Coral Gables, Indianapolis, and more!” she wrote.
The second-round book tour, coupled with relentless campaigning on behalf of Democrats, numerous social media campaigns, and repeated “investment missions” abroad, has fueled criticism Whitmer is prioritizing her political ambitions over her constituents.
Through the first three quarters of 2024, Whitmer spent a quarter of her time in office on trips to other places, both national and international, according to analysis by The Detroit News of bonus payments to Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist for serving as governor in her absence.
The analysis showed Gilchrist could have been paid for 78 days, or 29% of the first nine months of 2024, though Whitmer spokesman Bobby Leddy claimed it was 58 days, or 21%.
In addition to campaign stops on behalf of President Joe Biden and Harris in Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Illinois, New Hampshire, and elsewhere, Whitmer also jetted to Seattle, Santa Monica, San Francisco, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, Washington DC, and Little Rock to promote True Gretch in 2024.
There were also stops to promote the book on The Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert, Good Morning America, The View, CNN and other programs.
Last March, Whitmer headed to sunny San Diego amid a winter storm that knocked out power to an estimated 650,000 Michiganders, although the reason why was unclear.
In May, it was a trip to the 28th Annual Webby Awards in New York City, where she celebrated the “success” of her “Governor Barbie” online campaign in 2023, which featured a Whitmer lookalike cruising the state in a vintage pink Corvette to tout the governor’s policies on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Facebook.
There were also overseas “investment missions” to South Korea, Taiwan and Spain, which followed other trips the year prior to Norway, Japan, Switzerland, Paris and Germany.
The trend has continued in 2025, with a trip to the United Arab Emirates in February to “bring new jobs back home,” and True Gretch promotional tour stops in Michigan and beyond.
The busy schedule has riled Republicans urging Whitmer to take action on a host of more pressing issues at home, from needed funding for roads that are crumbling faster than agencies can repair them, to 10 straight months of rising unemployment, to constituents in state Senate District 35 waiting for months on Whitmer to call a special election.