‘Primary death wish’: Dem leader reamed as camera catches warm hug with Trump

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer caught fire from progressives and Democratic activists after cameras caught her warmly embracing President Donald Trump during his visit to Michigan on Tuesday as he marked the 100th day of his second term.

Once a vocal critic of Trump, Whitmer shared a hug with the MAGA leader as he landed in Harrison Township, Michigan, where they announced a new fighter jet squadron at Selfridge Air National Guard Base.

“I ‘am really d--n happy I’m here to celebrate this recapitalization at Selfridge,” Whitmer said after Trump invited her to his presidential podium. “I hadn’t planned to speak,” she added.

But not everybody was pleased with the now-viral moment created by the Michigan governor, who took heat earlier this month after The New York Times published a photo of her hiding from the press inside the Oval Office.

“AWKWARD! After covering her face up at the White House, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer just welcomed President Trump to her state,” Eric Daugherty, assistant news director at Florida Voice News wrote on X. “She is NOT happy her embrace of Trump was just on camera, guaranteed!”

ALSO READ: What Trump's unconstitutional executive orders are really meant to do

“Far right extremists tried to kidnap Whitmer. Trump himself later suggested it was a fake plot and mocked it,” former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan wrote in a Bluesky post. “He called her ‘that woman in Michigan’ and led a crowd that chanted ‘lock her up.’ Today Whitmer hugged him on the tarmac. This is why Dems lose.”

“She has a Dem primary death wish, it seems,” he added in a follow-up post.

Political and market researcher Anna Matson suspected something deeper was behind Whitmer’s Tuesday embrace of the president.

“As much as I would love to believe that President Trump and Governor Whitmer worked together harmoniously to save Selfridge Air Base, I also wasn’t born yesterday,” Anna Matson wrote on X. “I want to know what deal was cut for Trump to say nice things about Gretchen Whitmer.”

Whitmer herself took to social media in an attempt to quell the backlash within her party. “I'll work with anyone who's serious about getting things done,” she told her X followers. “But I'll never compromise on what I believe. In Michigan, we know how to get things done—and that means working together.”

Trump during his remarks in Michigan praised the Democratic governor, who he said has “done a very good job.”