At a campaign event in Detroit, Michigan, on Monday for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, joining the festivities was the state’s Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who asked a series of pointed questions about Republican nominee Donald Trump’s personal life.
“This guy just doesn’t get you or your life at all,” Whitmer said. “I don’t think he could tell us what the difference is between a flat head and a Phillips head screwdriver, you know what I’m saying? You think he’s ever swung a hammer or used a power tool in his life? Oh hell no. You think he’s ever scanned a coupon at the store to save money as he’s checking out? You think he ever sat down with a number of family bills knowing he could only afford to pay some of ’em? He’s never struggled. He doesn’t know what the average person’s life is like in this country.”
Whitmer herself is a past target of Trump’s very public ire, but none of that — and none of the right-wing outrage over her handling of COVID-19 in her state — stopped Whitmer from successfully winning another term as governor by a large margin in the 2022 midterm elections. Michigan Democrats took control of both chambers of the state legislature in those elections, which, combined with Whitmer’s renewed success, gave the party a major springboard for policy in the state in the time since.
The same kind of “trifecta” (as it’s known) took shape in nearby Minnesota in the same year’s elections — and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is now Harris’ running mate in this year’s race for president.
Walz campaigned in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (another swing state) on Monday, while Harris, besides her Detroit stop, also trekked to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — where she was joined by President Joe Biden, reaffirming his support for her candidacy.
