Whitmer's big gamble for '28: Working with Trump

State of play: Whitmer has visited the White House three times this year — most recently this month, when she met with Trump to discuss tariffs, Medicaid funding and northern Michigan's recovery efforts from a spring ice storm.

• During previous Oval Office meetings, they discussed stationing a fleet of new fighter aircrafts at Selfridge Air National Guard Base and a $1 billion federal project aimed at protecting the Great Lakes from damaging invasive carp, sources tell Axios.

Trump has told reporters that Whitmer is a "very good person" who was doing an "excellent job" when she came to the White House in early April.

• When Trump visited Michigan later that month, he called the governor onstage.
• "I'm not supposed to do that. She's a Democrat. They say, 'Don't do that. Don't have her here.' I said, 'No, she's going to be here.' She's done a very good job," Trump said.

The intrigue: Trump shows an affinity for those who are cordial with him, regardless of their party affiliation.

• He's said privately that Whitmer is one of the national Democrats who most impresses him.
• Senior White House advisers also have been complimentary of Whitmer, saying she's been particularly collaborative on the Great Lakes project.
• Trump, by contrast, frequently blasts Newsom, whom he derides as "Newscum," and Pritzker, whom he calls "probably the worst" governor in the country.

It wasn't always so warm between Trump and Whitmer.

• Trump referred to her as "half-Whitmer" during his first term, and said she was "dishonest."
• In 2020, Whitmer accused Trump of being "complicit" in a foiled plot by a militia group to kidnap her because he had refused to denounce far-right hate groups.
• More recently she has tossed some criticism Trump's way on his "big beautiful" tax and spending bill and his tariffs plan. Whitmer called the former a "big betrayal bill," and said the tariffs were "dangerous."

The big picture: If Whitmer runs in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary, it would test whether Democratic voters want party figures to oppose Trump at every turn — or show some willingness to work with him on issues on which they agree.

• Whitmer's team argues that voters are eager for collaboration, and points to polling indicating that 54% of Democrats in Michigan approve of her approach toward Trump.
• "The things she is working with the administration on are good for the state. She is about getting sh*t done. That is her ideology. And she is succeeding in that," said Democratic pollster John Anzalone, a Whitmer adviser.
• Some Republicans think Whitmer is being savvy. "She's taking a gamble, but it's a gamble that's more likely to be successful than the agenda that animates the Democratic Party currently," said Jason Roe, a Michigan-based GOP strategist.

Reality check: Democratic primaries are heavily influenced — at least initially — by activists in the party's liberal base, who passionately oppose Trump.

• Whitmer has gotten pushback from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who after a Whitmer-Trump meeting posted on X: "Appeasement is not workable strategy with a fascist."
• Whitmer is sensitive to the criticism. She tried to hide her face behind a folder when a photographer spotted her in the Oval Office in April — an image that went viral. Trump later said privately he thought Whitmer had made a mistake by trying to shield herself.
• She has not been afraid to criticize Trump -- including on Trump's "big, beautiful bill," which Whitmer has labeled the "big betrayal bill," and on tariffs, which she has called "dangerous."

But Whitmer — whose swing state Trump won in 2016 and 2024 — has long had friendly relationships with Republicans.

• Whitmer's father, Richard Whitmer, headed Michigan's commerce department under Republican Gov. William Milliken.
• During the 2018 governor's race, she drew endorsements from several prominent Michigan Republicans.
• She has close working relationships with several GOP legislators, including state House Speaker Matt Hall.

What they're saying: "I've always said that I'll work with anyone to get things done for Michigan," Whitmer said in a statement to Axios. "That's why I've continued to go to Washington, D.C., to make sure that Michiganders are front and center when critical decisions are being made."

• A White House spokesperson declined to comment.