The Internet Owes Gretchen Whitmer an Apology

Since the presidential election, I've seen a shocking number of polls showing that the vast majority of Americans—including Democrats—don’t know who the Democratic Party is fighting for. Worse, they fundamentally don’t believe that Democrats can get anything done. Whether or not that’s fair is almost beside the point now, because the political problem it creates for Democrats in 2026 and 2028 is massive. Existential, even.

Too many Democratic leaders still don’t seem to understand just how deep this trust issue runs. But one who does is Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

Whitmer—who, by the way, just clocked a 63% approval rating in a poll released today—is showing exactly what Democratic leadership can look like when it's focused on results, not theater. That number didn’t come out of nowhere. It’s a direct result of her recent (and admittedly controversial) decision to work across the aisle—including with Donald Trump—to get actual shit done for the people of Michigan. And for that, she deserves her flowers now, not in a retrospective afterthought decades from today.

She got slammed online by a lot of misguided people over the past couple of weeks for working with Trump and Republicans to bring disaster relief to victims of brutal ice storms in northern Michigan and to save 30,000 jobs at a military base in her state. Some people lost their minds over the optics of a Democratic governor standing next to Trump—even if it meant helping tens of thousands of constituents.

But here’s the thing: Gretchen Whitmer understands that her job is to deliver. Not to posture. Not to play for applause from blue-check Twitter. To deliver. And in a moment when voters don't believe that either party is capable of producing real results in their daily lives, getting shit done isn’t just good governance—it’s great politics.

People are so exhausted by the selfishness and corruption of our politics. They’re watching members of Congress use insider information to trade stocks and become multimillionaires. They’re watching Trump take hundreds of millions in bribes from foreign governments, shill a meme coin, and make billions leeching off his own supporters. It’s performative, it’s cynical, and it’s insulting. That’s the backdrop.

What Whitmer did cuts through all of it. It wasn’t comfortable. It wasn’t easy. But it was real. She did something hard, with someone she’s had high profile disagreements with, because the outcome mattered more than the narrative. For God’s sake, some of his supporters tried to kidnap her a few years ago!

This is the kind of leadership Democrats need to showcase if they want to get back into power nationally. It’s not about being afraid to throw punches—we absolutely have to fight Trump and the corruption and incompetence he brings. We have to defend our rights, protect immigrant communities, and push back against the cruelty. No question.

But we also have to deliver. Especially our governors and mayors. Their job is essentially constituent services. It’s not about climbing the ladder or launching vanity podcasts (looking at you, Gavin Newsom). It’s about waking up every single day and improving people’s lives. Period.

So to everyone who dragged Gretchen Whitmer for one damn photo they didn’t like, or because they didn’t like the idea of her sharing space with Trump: you owe her a massive apology. The people of Michigan clearly appreciate having a governor who gives a shit. And if Democrats are smart, they’ll take notes—because this is what leadership in this moment has to look like.