{"id":9598,"date":"2024-07-17T15:39:34","date_gmt":"2024-07-17T15:39:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/?p=9598"},"modified":"2024-07-17T15:41:26","modified_gmt":"2024-07-17T15:41:26","slug":"gov-whitmer-shuts-down-2024-presidential-talk-but-doesnt-hide-her-ambitions-in-timely-book-launch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/17\/gov-whitmer-shuts-down-2024-presidential-talk-but-doesnt-hide-her-ambitions-in-timely-book-launch\/","title":{"rendered":"Gov. Whitmer shuts down 2024 presidential talk but doesn\u2019t hide her ambitions in timely book launch"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and ISABELLA VOLMERT Associated Press<\/a><\/p>\n

LANSING, Mich., Jul 8, 2024 (AP): Michigan Gov.\u00a0Gretchen Whitmer<\/a>\u00a0is releasing a new memoir at a particularly fraught moment, both for herself and for the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n

Set for release Tuesday amid the frenzy over President Joe Biden\u2019s recent debate\u00a0performance<\/a>, \u201cTrue Gretch\u201d won\u2019t do much to dispel questions about her national ambitions. But in a pre-launch interview with The Associated Press, Whitmer did what she could to shut down such speculation. When asked if she would consider becoming a candidate this year if Biden were to\u00a0step down,<\/a>\u00a0she responded with a definitive, \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a distraction more than anything,\u201d said Whitmer. \u201cI don\u2019t like seeing my name in articles like that because I\u2019m totally focused on governing and campaigning for the ticket.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the book, Whitmer recounts events that unfolded on the national stage throughout her career, including a clash with Donald Trump and\u00a0a kidnapping plot<\/a>\u00a0targeting her and her family.<\/p>\n

Her swift ascent over two decades \u2014 from law school graduate to Michigan\u2019s governor \u2014 has established her as a prominent figure within the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n

Her status was solidified in 2022 with a decisive reelection and her party\u2019s success in flipping both chambers of the state legislature, granting Democrats full control for the first time in nearly four decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve spent the first quarter of this century watching as the arc of our politics has bent uncomfortably toward incivility and strife,\u201d Whitmer says in the first pages of her book. Then she adds, \u201cThat\u2019s why I decided to write this book: to put a little light out there in a damn dark time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Whitmer first caught national attention as the Michigan Senate minority leader in 2013. Before a floor vote on an anti-abortion bill, Whitmer abandoned her prepared remarks and shared that she had been raped while in college.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was terrifying to think of opening myself up, of telling this room full of mostly men about being assaulted as a young woman,\u201d she says in the book.<\/p>\n

More than 10 years after that bill passed,\u00a0Whitmer signed a law as governor to repeal it<\/a>, the same year\u00a0Michigan voters enshrined abortion rights<\/a>\u00a0in the state constitution.<\/p>\n

Whitmer has been pushing the topic of abortion access in her role as co-chair of the Biden campaign, saying he is on the \u201cright side\u201d of the abortion fight despite his lackluster performance in the recent debate on the question of reproductive rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think everyone has acknowledged it was not his finest 90 minutes,\u201d she said in an interview. \u201cThat said, this is a man I\u2019ve known for a long time and has decades of public service receipts that he\u2019s delivered to people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whitmer has said at campaign events that Trump could roll back reproductive rights if elected to the Oval Office. She famously sparred with the then-president over the federal government\u2019s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in her first term as governor. Trump’s reference to Whitmer during a White House news briefing took off as \u201cthat woman from Michigan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whitmer blames the former president for fueling the political hatred that motivated a plot to kidnap and kill her that unfolded in 2020. In the book, Whitmer is critical of reports that refer to the scheme as a \u201ckidnapping plot,\u201d saying it was clear the plan was to assassinate her.<\/p>\n

Whitmer says her daughters have not returned to the private residence that the conspirators staked out and her husband closed his dental practice following threats.<\/p>\n

\u201cNearly three years down the road, there\u2019s no doubt that the apparent kidnapping and murder plot changed me,\u201d she writes.<\/p>\n

Whitmer says in the book she wants to meet with a handful of those who pleaded guilty to the charges in the name of understanding, \u201cto ask the questions and really hear the answers.\u201d\u00a0There were five acquittals<\/a>\u00a0among 14 people charged in state or federal court<\/p>\n

One of 12 female state governors and arguably the most well-known, Whitmer writes frankly about how gender-based violence, threats and rhetoric have affected her career and personal life. She shares heavy moments in which she told her two daughters about the sexual assault and, years later, the conspiracy to kill her.<\/p>\n

Whitmer said at times it was difficult to return to those events in\u00a0writing the book<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think my way to deal with it is to actually talk about it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She writes about how she used to be a partier (she once threw up on her high school principal after drinking) before law school and her relationship with her own body. People from voters to reporters have discussed her appearance and what she wears above her policies, she says in the book.<\/p>\n

She is unapologetic throughout, except when she expresses regret for going out to dinner at a dive bar with friends despite pandemic restrictions. Whitmer points out that another Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom of California, was also criticized, for going to a Michelin three-star restaurant during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Newsom\u2019s name has been circulated alongside Whitmer\u2019s this past week as a possible replacement nominee for Biden.<\/p>\n

Politico Magazine reported July 1 that \u201csomeone close to a potential 2028 Whitmer rival for the Democratic presidential nomination\u201d said Whitmer had said Michigan was no longer winnable for Biden after the debate.<\/p>\n

Whitmer denied the report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s frustrating that there are news outlets that will publish something that a potential future opponent\u2019s staff person would say,\u201d Whitmer said.<\/p>\n

Whitmer ends her memoir with 26th President Theodore Roosevelt\u2019s \u201cman in the arena\u201d quote, with a colorful reference to her own affinity for wearing pink.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe \u2018man\u2019 may be a woman. And she may just be wearing fuchsia,\u201d Whitmer concludes.<\/p>\n

Whitmer said in the interview that she shares the quote with her staff and it\u2019s about \u201cdoing the hard, right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s a little outdated,\u201d she said with a laugh.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and ISABELLA VOLMERT Associated Press LANSING, Mich., Jul 8, 2024 (AP): Michigan Gov.\u00a0Gretchen Whitmer\u00a0is releasing a new memoir at a particularly fraught moment, both for herself and for the Democratic Party. Set for release Tuesday amid the frenzy over President Joe Biden\u2019s recent debate\u00a0performance, \u201cTrue Gretch\u201d won\u2019t do much to dispel questions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9599,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_rtcl_gb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[211],"class_list":["post-9598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"aioseo_notices":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/whitmer-pic.jpg",700,467,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/whitmer-pic.jpg",700,467,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/whitmer-pic.jpg",700,467,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/whitmer-pic-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/whitmer-pic-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"large":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/whitmer-pic.jpg",640,427,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/whitmer-pic.jpg",700,467,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/whitmer-pic.jpg",700,467,false],"rtcl-gallery":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/whitmer-pic-700x462.jpg",700,462,true],"rtcl-thumbnail":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/whitmer-pic-320x240.jpg",320,240,true],"rtcl-gallery-thumbnail":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/whitmer-pic-150x105.jpg",150,105,true],"psacp-medium":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/whitmer-pic.jpg",500,334,false],"rpwe-thumbnail":["https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/whitmer-pic-45x45.jpg",45,45,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"LaPrensa Newspaper","author_link":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/author\/laprensa\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Articles<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and ISABELLA VOLMERT Associated Press LANSING, Mich., Jul 8, 2024 (AP): Michigan Gov.\u00a0Gretchen Whitmer\u00a0is releasing a new memoir at a particularly fraught moment, both for herself and for the Democratic Party. Set for release Tuesday amid the frenzy over President Joe Biden\u2019s recent debate\u00a0performance, \u201cTrue Gretch\u201d won\u2019t do much to dispel questions","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9598"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9598\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9602,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9598\/revisions\/9602"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9598"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=9598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}