Gretchen Whitmer reveals reason for hiding her face during Oval Office meeting with Trump
WASHINGTON, DC: Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer found herself under the spolight after a photo of hers went viral recently. The photo was captured on April 9, Wednesday, when she was unexpectedly ushered into the Oval Office to meet President Donald Trump as he prepared to sign a series of executive orders.
After days of online ridicule and political interpretation, Whitmer finally addressed the awkward encounter on April 14, Monday, as per Daily Mail.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer addresses the viral photo of her shielding her face with a file folder during last week's Oval Office meeting with President Trump.
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) April 14, 2025
“Someone asked me what was going through your mind in that moment. It was, I don’t want my picture taken. That’s… pic.twitter.com/4hfsFslS4K
Gretchen Whitmer explains viral Oval Office moment
As journalists and photographers flooded the room for President Trump's photo-op while he signed executive orders, Gretchen Whitmer made a decision she’d soon come to regret — she held two blue folders up to shield her face from the cameras.
New York Times photographer Eric Lee captured the moment perfectly: Whitmer, flanked by two Trump staffers, obscuring her face as camera flashes went off.
Gretchen Whitmer hiding behind her files from the press in the White House pic.twitter.com/hoMWyxGGW4
— Greta_USA (@DEI_Greta) April 13, 2025
It didn’t take long for the image to go viral and ignite a firestorm of ridicule and political speculation.
“You asked me what was going on in my mind at that moment,” said Whitmer while addressing the viral moment.
“It was ‘I don't want my picture taken’ — that's all it was," she added.
She continued, “I kinda wish I hadn't put my folder up in front of my face, but whatever. We all have our moments.”
When she finally lowered the folders, her expression looked visibly uncomfortable. For some, the body language spoke volumes—especially given the tension between her and Trump.
Real reason behind Gretchen Whitmer’s Oval Office visit
Behind the uncomfortable photo op was a serious purpose.
Gretchen Whitmer traveled to Washington DC to advocate for a Presidential Emergency Declaration in the wake of a severe ice storm and to discuss tariffs affecting her state.
Her office clarified that she was not informed about the photo-op in the Oval Office and was brought in unexpectedly during Trump’s signing ceremony.
“Her presence did not imply endorsement of Trump's orders,” her team explained.
Despite that, the optics of the moment stirred frustration, especially among fellow Democrats.
Gretchen Whitmer softens stance toward Donald Trump
Despite their well-known clashes during Donald Trump’s first term, Gretchen Whitmer’s tone toward the president appears to be softening.
According to The New York Times, she sent him a letter the day after his second inauguration, thanking him for mentioning the auto industry in his speech and even providing her personal cellphone number for direct communication.
During their meeting on April 9, Trump acknowledged her presence with surprising warmth, “We're honored to have Gretchen Whitmer from Michigan, great state of Michigan, and she's been, she's really done an excellent job, very good person.”
She stood alongside Michigan State House Speaker Matt Hall and several Trump cabinet secretaries near the Resolute Desk as the president announced investigations into former DHS official Miles Taylor and ex-CISA director Christopher Krebs.
However, not everyone appreciated the symbolism of the moment.
“This does not look like the politics of resistance,” CNN’s Audie Cornish remarked, as per New York Post.
“Just a f**king disaster,” one anonymous Democratic operative told NBC News, adding, “It feels like it removes some of the momentum she had as a politically savvy swing-state Dem.”
