(The Center Square) – After denying any interest in replacing President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination this fall, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joined a team of fellow Democratic governors at a White House meeting Wednesday.
It’s currently unknown what the meeting entailed, but Biden was also scheduled to have lunch with Vice President Kamala Harris. Whitmer said on social media Monday the president can still be reelected in her state, following rumors of her doubting his chances after last week’s debate.
“Anyone who claims I would say that we can’t win Michigan is full of s—,” Whitmer wrote on X. She included a Biden campaign video and a link to donate to her political action committee supporting his reelection.
Michigan went for former President Donald Trump in 2016, but flipped to Biden in 2020.
“I am proud to support Joe Biden as our nominee and I am behind him 100 percent in the fight to defeat Donald Trump,” Whitmer said in a statement. “Not only do I believe Joe can win Michigan, I know he can because he’s got the receipts: he’s lowered health care costs, brought back manufacturing jobs, and is committed to restoring the reproductive freedom women lost under Donald Trump.”
Whitmer’s statement followed a phone call with campaign chair Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, leaked by Politico. During the call, she is said to have disavowed the rumors surrounding her replacing Biden as the presidential nominee. All of this comes in the wake of her memoir, “True Gretch,” being released later this month.
According to a Data for Progress flash poll after Thursday’s presidential debate, 51% of Democratic voters supported Biden remaining the party’s nominee. The same survey found likely replacements — Harris, Whitmer and California Gov. Gavin Newsom— all didn’t fare much better than Biden in a race against Trump.
Newsom, a fellow Biden surrogate, will be campaigning for Biden at an Independence Day barbeque in South Haven. Biden will also visit the Midwest on Friday, giving a speech in Madison, Wisconsin just a week before the Republican National Convention opens in Milwaukee.
