Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has a message about her political future: “I ain’t going anywhere.”

The term-limited governor delivered those remarks and others on her political aspirations, recent embarrassing visit with President Donald Trump, and the themes of her book more than 2,200 miles away from home during the latest in her countless travels out of state.

Her constituents can read all about it in the Los Angeles Times.

“People often ask me, ‘How did you get elected in a state like Michigan?’” Whitmer told the “huge crowd” Sunday at the LA Times Festival of Books. “I think it’s because people in Michigan believe that I am always going to put their interests first, even if it means threats or ridicule in the last month.”

The Sunday stop at the University of Southern California’s Bovard Theater marked the latest in a second-round book tour for True Gretch, and followed just a few weeks after Whitmer trekked to Washington, D.C. to lecture America about job creation.

The latter was followed by a meeting with Trump the same day in which the 47^th POTUS praised Whitmer as she hid from reporters behind a blue folder. The meeting with Trump also coincided with the president signing executive orders, including one to protect the Great Lakes from invasive Asian carp.

In LA, Whitmer framed the embarrassing meeting as the price she’s willing to pay to fight for Michiganders, noting she intended to ask for aid for ice storm recovery in what she thought was a one-on-one sit down with Trump.

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“Even as recently as a few weeks ago, I got caught in a situation that I never would have anticipated in a million years,” Whitmer told the book festival, according to the Times. “I got stuck in this press conference, and I disagreed with all the actions that were taken, all the rhetoric that was stated, but I had to stay to ask for help for Michigan.”

Regardless, both of the governor’s book tours – in 2024 and 2025, along with the big speech in Washington, relentless campaigning for Democrats in 2024, scores of television appearances and numerous “investment missions” abroad have raised concerns Whitmer is prioritizing her political future over Michiganders.

Through the first three quarters of 2024, Whitmer spent a quarter of her time as governor 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%.

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This year was more of the same, with a slate of stops for her second True Gretch book tour launched in January, an “investment mission” to the UK and Ireland in March, and her speech in Washington this month.

The situation is enraging Michigan Republicans, who remain fixated on the state’s rising unemployment, vacant state Senate seat, lowest reading scores in a decade, $3.9 billion road funding shortfall, and Whitmer’s threat of tax hikes to fuel her record $86 billion budget.

When confronted about her future plans, the potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender told folks in LA “I don’t know yet.”

“I know enough about myself to know I care desperately about where this country is headed,” she said, pointing to the first 100 days of Trump’s second term “and how much work is going to have to be done to make sure that we have the opportunity to put this country back on the right course.

“I want to be a part of that,” she said, adding she doesn’t necessarily “need to be the main character in that story.”

Polling so far suggests she won’t be.

Among 10 potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates, there’s only one voters believe is less ideal that Whitmer, according to a poll of 1,626 U.S. adult citizens conducted by the Economist/YouGov in early April.

Pollsters asked respondents to select all candidates they would consider voting for in the Democratic presidential primary in 2028, as well as their “ideal choice.”

“Kamala Harris (58%) is the politician among a list of 10 in the poll whom Democrats are by far most likely to say they’d consider voting for in a 2028 Democratic presidential primary,” according to YouGov. “Harris is followed by Pete Buttigieg (39%), Tim Walz (38%), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (38%), and Elizabeth Warren (33%).”

Second to last, just ahead of Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly with 23%, is Whitmer at 25%.

And while a quarter of Democrats would “consider” Whitmer, the percentage who named her as an “ideal choice” is far less.

Just 2% of Democrats polled identified Whitmer as their preferred candidate. Only New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker fared worse at 1%, while Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren was also at 2%.