No Mention Of Presidential Ambitions, But Plenty Of National Attention In Whitmer’s New Memoir

Despite no direct mention of future presidential ambitions in her first book, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s memoir “True Gretch” reads like a “get to know me” for a national audience, and includes at least six instances where the second-term governor received national attention during her time in elected office. 

Whitmer told The Associated Press Monday she won’t be stepping up this election cycle even if President Joe Biden steps down, but the book is riddled with signs that could point to future presidential ambitions. 

In addition to casually mentioned political successes, the “Governor Barbie” campaign that The New York Times ran a story on (and that won a 2023 Shorty Impact Award), a Saturday Night Live (SNL) skit in her honor and a viral video clip where Whitmer can be seen mouthing the words, “it’s Shark Week, mother******” were all featured in her memoir. 

Despite several of these fame-inducing responses coming as a result of difficult times for Whitmer, including a widespread national response to a Senate floor speech sharing her own rape and a social media fight with former President Donald Trump, the writing is peppered with the lighthearted humor that many Michiganders have come to recognize from her campaign speeches. 

The book also acts as a platform to shed light on Whitmer’s own thoughts about these impactful and traumatic events, especially those in recent history. 

Whitmer said she decided to write the book to “put a little light out there in a damn dark time,” and highlight the importance of trying to find the good in bad situations. 

Pandemic Governance:

A large portion of Whitmer’s memoir was focused on her pandemic governance, the national response (both in favor and opposed) and even her self-titled biggest political blunder. 

In the first chapter after the prologue, which is called “don’t let the bullies get you down,” Whitmer referenced several childhood nicknames and another that came well into her adulthood – that woman from Michigan. 

“There was one nickname in particular that managed to propel me into the newspapers – though, in fairness, the coverage came about not so much because of the nickname itself, but because of who gave it to me,” Whitmer wrote. “‘That woman from Michigan.’ That’s me! Then-President Donald J. Trump bestowed this very special name on me in the spring of 2020 – though what he actually said, speaking to Vice President Mike Pence at a White House press conference, was ‘Don’t call the woman in Michigan.'” 

The nickname came about during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Whitmer said, after she went on MSNBC on March 16, 2020, to talk about the lack of a federal pandemic mitigation strategy and Trump fired back on then-Twitter. 

Whitmer’s response and repeated calls for Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster status in Michigan led to continued public criticism between her and Trump, including at the White House press conference, which Whitmer said led to national attention, t-shirts, bumper stickers, a Daily Show With Trevor Noah appearance and even one woman having Whitmer’s face tattooed. 

Now that I’ve got your attention, Mr. President – attack tweets won’t solve this crisis. But swift and clear guidance, tests, personal protective equipment, and resources would.

FYI – here’s what I’ve done so far.

— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) March 17, 2020

The t-shirts, not the tattoo, were featured in “True Gretch.” 

Whitmer also referenced her numerous executive orders over the lifespan of the pandemic, which resulted in Detroit rapper Gmac Cash’s song and music video titled “Big Gretch,” featuring the governor in high-end Cartier sunglasses. 

Her pandemic response, and the opposition from conservative Michiganders, also got Whitmer featured on SNL, where Cecily Strong filmed herself talking about the pandemic while drinking a Labatt. 

“When I first started watching the sketch I was worried, but soon I was laughing,” Whitmer wrote. “Cecily’s accent was definitely over the top, but she was portraying me as a rugged Michigan woman drinking beer and standing up to bullies. What’s not to like?” 

But Whitmer also shared her less favorable pandemic moments, including what she called “one of my biggest flubs in politics,” when she pushed several tables together in East Lansing’s Landshark bar and violated gathering restrictions and made national headlines.

“It was an own goal, as they say in soccer, a totally avoidable mistake that was mine and mine alone,” she said. 

Kidnapping Plot:

Another recurring theme throughout Whitmer’s memoir was her perception of COVID-19 stay-home protests and the resulting failed kidnapping plot. 

Though she kept it light, writing, “After some in a right-wing militia plotted to kidnap and kill me in 2020 … I would later talk about it on the campaign trail. ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. So I guess I’m strong as hell now,'” Whitmer also shared the fear felt by herself and her family when she learned about the plot and reconnaissance efforts at her family’s cottage in Elk Rapids. 

“While the governor’s residence in Lansing felt extremely secure, our cottage was near the road, a small, one-story private residence with no gate,” Whitmer said, adding “to this day, neither Sherry nor Sydney (her daughters) has gone back there, even though it was always one of our favorite places to go as a family.” 

Senate Floor Speech:

Not all Whitmer’s vulnerable moments were pandemic related, however. 

She opened the second chapter with a note about Sinead O’Connor’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U,’ which she called hauntingly beautiful. 

“It was a huge hit in 1990, playing on the radio constantly when I was a freshman at Michigan State University,” Whitmer said. “And that’s why I can’t stand hearing it. Because it takes me right back to the traumatic event that happened to me that year, when I was raped by another student.” 

After several decades of sharing the assault with only a handful of people, including her first and second husbands, Whitmer wrote how she felt compelled to finally share her story when she was Senate Minority Leader, in response to a bill requiring Michigan women to buy extra health insurance for abortion coverage, which she called a “rape insurance bill.” 

After first asking a colleague to share their own miscarriage story, Whitmer said she realized, “how could I ask him to publicly bare his soul if I wasn’t willing to do that myself?”

She recounted her experience on the floor, and shared portions of her speech, including the line, “I am not the only woman in our state that has faced that horrible circumstance. I am not enjoying talking about it. It’s something I’ve hidden for a long time. But I think you need to see the face of the women that you are impacting by this vote today.” 

Whitmer wrote that when she saw not a single one of her colleagues change their vote, she was disheartened, and had to immediately call her father and prepare him to see the news, but in the days after, the response from around the country, “and even as far away as Tunisia” made her see the value of her candor. 

Her appearance on The Rachel Maddow Show and returning to the Senate 10 years later to sign the Reproductive Health Act on the anniversary of her speech were also included in the chapter. 

Marketing Team:

“While we governors are a competitive group, it is objectively true (in my subjective opinion) that I have the most creative social media of any of them,” Whitmer wrote in chapter four, highlighting the work of her digital and creative director, Julia Pickett. 

The best example she cited of her team’s genius was “Lil’ Gretch,” or the Barbie governor doll that was seen on X during the summer of 2023 in a pink convertible and in front of a miniature podium.

In addition to going viral, with what Whitmer said were five million impressions across X, Instagram, TikTok, Threads and Facebook, the marketing ploy was picked up by The New York Times and won a 2023 Shorty Impact Award for best social media in the government and politics category. 

Several Lil’ Gretch images were featured in the memoir, along with one TikTok video of Whitmer as a talking potato. 

Whitmer also shared the way she turned around a viral video of herself mouthing the words, “it’s Shark Week mother******,” which she described as a phrase that helps her smile before giving speeches, into a marketing opportunity. 

After her initial horror at her speech prep video being leaked, Whitmer said “it started to seem like people saw the gaffe as more hilarious than horrifying … embracing this moment of levity (and foul language) was the right move, turning an embarrassing moment into an empowering one.” 

Whitmer said she even got a shark tattoo to commemorate it. 

Other highlights from Whitmer’s memoir included the origin of her “Fix The Damn Roads” slogan, which Whitmer said came from a Detroit Children’s Hospital visit, her use of pen-and-paper note taking, her gratitude journal (complete with excerpts) and a bat birthday cake sent to former Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey. 

Article courtesy MIRS News for SBAM’s Lansing Watchdog e-newsletter