Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer drew a huge crowd to USC’s Bovard Theater at the L.A. Times Festival of Books on Sunday, where she addressed her recent photo-op with President Trump and her potential presidential run in 2028.
“People often ask me, ‘How did you get elected in a state like Michigan?’” Whitmer told an attentive audience. “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 discussion with L.A. Times reporter Jessica Gelt was technically about Whitmer’s latest book “True Gretch — Young Adult Edition: Lessons for Anyone Who Wants to Make a Difference.” However, the conversation broadly addressed Whitmer’s professed commitment to understanding political differences, even when it puts her in hot water — as was the case after she was recently photographed alongside Trump at the White House as he signed two executive orders targeting his perceived political enemies. In some of the photos, the Democratic governor appears to attempt to hide her face behind a folder.
“Even as recently as a few weeks ago, I got caught in a situation that I never would have anticipated in a million years,” said Whitmer, directly addressing the situation on Sunday. “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.”
Whitmer said she had intended to have a one-on-one meeting with Trump to ask for aid for recovery efforts for an ice storm in northern Michigan.
“I’m not going to apologize for asking for that help, but I’m not happy about the situation,” she said.
Later in the talk, Gelt asked Whitmer about her future political plans. By law, she cannot run for a third term in the state’s 2026 election, and though she has denied the rumors, Whitmer is considered by many to be a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2028.
“I don’t know yet,” Whitmer said. “I know enough about myself to know I care desperately about where this country is headed,” she continued, noting how much has happened in the first 100 days of Trump’s second presidency “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 before noting, “I don’t know that I need to be the main character in that story.”
“True Gretch — Young Adult Edition” follows the adult-oriented “True Gretch: What I’ve Learned About Life, Leadership And Everything in Between,” yet features some additions, including references to resources for young people dealing with abuse or mental health issues and a question-and-answer segment with her daughters, 21 and 23 years old.
Both editions offer insights from the Democratic governor’s political life, which includes overcoming a kidnapping and assassination plot in 2020 along with steering her state through the COVID-19 pandemic.
The overarching talking point from the governor was that she “wouldn’t trade a thing.” She even said she wants to have a conversation with two of the men, now incarcerated, who co-operated with the government in their case against those arrested in the kidnap and assassination attempt against the governor herself.
Said Whitmer: “There are people that won’t engage, there are people who might engage, but the one thing I know is it’s impossible to find common ground if you don’t try to have a conversation.”