President Donald Trump offered rare praise for a Democrat Tuesday, saying as he arrived at Selfridge Air National Guard Base that Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer “has done a very good job” — a marked shift from the previous frosty relationship between the two.
“She came to see me — that’s the reason she came to see me, by the way, to save Selfridge, and she was very effective, along with some of the other politicians and some of the military people that love this place,” Trump said, referring to the governor’s visit to the White House earlier this month.
He added that he wanted “to thank” Whitmer “very strongly” for bringing it to the administration’s attention.
Whitmer was on hand when Trump arrived at Selfridge, shaking hands with him as he deplaned from Air Force One. She also joined the president in his motorcade. Trump acknowledged that it was odd for him to bring a Democrat along, but said he insisted on bringing her.
“I said, ‘No, she’s going to be here.’ She’s done a very good job, frankly, and she was very much involved with the Republicans, they worked together on saving it, and it was not easy,” the president said.
And it wasn’t just Trump delivering the cross-party compliments. Whitmer acknowledged she “hadn’t planned to speak,” during the visit, but that she was “really damn happy,” to be on hand for the announcement that new fighter jets would be provided to the base.
“It’s crucial for the Michigan economy, it’s crucial for the men and women here, for our homeland security and our future,” she said. “So, thank you — I am so, so grateful that this announcement is made today, and I appreciate all the work. … Thank you, Mr. President.”
It’s a different tone for the two leaders. Five years ago, Trump lashed out, saying he had a “big problem” with her and referring to her as “Gretchen ‘Half’ Whitmer” on social media as the two sparred over pandemic policies. But Whitmer is dealing with competing priorities now that she wasn’t before — balancing the demands of being the governor of a swing state that backed Trump in 2024 and a potential presidential candidate in 2028.
The Michigan Democrat has long advocated for a fighter mission at the base, even meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to support expanding the base’s operations in February.
And in a statement following the announcement Tuesday, Whitmer’s office shared a detailed timeline of her work advocating for the base — dating back to her first term in office in December 2019.
But she drew criticism from the left flank of her party after appearing in the Oval Office for an executive order signing earlier this month. At the time, the president caught Whitmer off-guard during his remarks as she stood in the back of the room while he briefly lauded her.
Whitmer was “surprised” she was brought into the Oval Office “without any notice of the subject matter” while Trump signed orders in front of the press, a spokesperson for the governor said at the time.
At one point during the meeting, Whitmer was captured holding a folder up to hide her face as cameras in the room snapped photos.
Earlier Tuesday, she pledged to “work with anyone who’s serious about getting things done,” in a post to X. “But I’ll never compromise on what I believe.”
In his remarks from Selfridge, Trump said that investments in the base’s future would provide an economic boom for the state, nodding to Whitmer directly.
“So, Gretchen, that’s a big economic — you’re not going to have too many economic development jobs like that, it’s great,” he said.
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