'America is ready': Gretchen Whitmer pushes back on Michelle Obama's take on a woman president
WASHINGTON, DC: In a television interview on Sunday, October 25, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer affirmed that American voters are ready to elect the first female president.
Notably, the remark served as a rebuttal to former First Lady Michelle Obama’s nearly a year-old remark in which she said US voters aren’t ready to elect a female president.
Michigan governor won't rule out a 2028 run
Whitmer appeared on NBC’s 'Meet the Press', where she said she has a lot of female colleagues who want to run for the presidential post.
“Listen, I have got a lot of colleagues who I think are probably interested in running for president, and I’ve heard everyone say, ‘You can’t have this person or that person,’” the governor said to host Kristen Welker.
“I would put my money on any Democratic governor in the country against [Vice President] JD Vance or [Secretary of State] Marco Rubio in 2028,” she added, pointing to two Republicans widely expected to run for president in two years.
Whitmer clearly replied yes when the host asked her whether she thinks a woman could be the best choice to beat a potential GOP presidential nominee in 2028.
Several women, including Whitmer and former Vice President Kamala Harris, are widely speculated to be potential candidates in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary.
Other Democratic governors, including California Gov Gavin Newsom, Illinois Gov JB Pritzker, Maryland Gov Wes Moore and Pennsylvania Gov Josh Shapiro, are also widely regarded as potential 2028 presidential candidates.
She did not deny that she’s exploring a potential run for president in 2028. She said she will explore her next step after she leaves the governor's office in January.
The governor earlier this year said, “I never thought I would run for governor. So I guess I should know better to never say never.”
What Michelle Obama said about a woman president
In November 2025, Michelle Obama told actor Tracee Ellis Ross during a book event in Brooklyn: “As we saw in this past election, sadly, we ain’t ready. That’s why I’m like, don’t even look at me about running, because you all are lying. You’re not ready for a woman. You are not.”
She pointed to the unsuccessful presidential bids of Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris, noting that lingering gender bias and resistance among many make the country unready for a woman in the Oval Office.
"As we saw in this past election, sadly, we ain't ready…and there's still a lot of men who do not feel like they can be led by a woman, and we saw it," she added.
