Whitmer says Harris bid gives 'whole other meaning' to 2024 race
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Jul. 26—NASHUA — The elevation of Vice President Kamala Harris to the top of the Democratic ticket gives the 2024 election a "whole other meaning" as an opportunity for a woman to break the highest glass ceiling and win the White House, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said while campaigning here on Thursday.
Whitmer said Harris won't get distracted as former President Donald Trump and other critics attack her gender and race.
"I do think it bears worth noting that he (Trump) is bringing out some of the worst tendencies from people that are using these racist tropes and sexist tropes, and it's precisely why it's time for a woman to break that glass ceiling, to normalize women in important executive positions and ... we will all benefit when she is able to do that," Whitmer said during an interview.
"This election takes a whole other meaning on top of all the other freedoms that are at risk right now."
Whitmer condemned the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump earlier this month.
In October 2020, Whitmer was the target of a plot by a far-right militia group to kidnap her and overthrow Michigan's state government. Federal officials made a series of arrests before the suspects could carry out their plan.
"I am glad to hear both sides saying it's time to turn down the temperature. I have been saying that for more than three years, and unfortunately most of the hateful rhetoric coming out has been from Donald Trump. When he comes to Michigan he does that," Whitmer said. "This (assassination attempt) is something to be taken very seriously. This is something that isn't acceptable ever no matter who the focus is of it," Whitmer said.
In that Whitmer kidnapping plot, seven were convicted or pleaded guilty to federal crimes. Two others were acquitted on grounds of entrapment by federal authorities.
Whitmer, 52, made her first visit to New Hampshire on Thursday, hosting a talk on abortion rights in Nashua and attending a speaking event at the home of former state Sen. Katie Wheeler in Durham.
She has said she is not interested in being selected as Harris's running mate. In 2020, then-candidate Joe Biden confirmed Whitmer had been on his short list of potential candidates before he picked Harris, a former U.S. senator, California attorney general and district attorney.
Picking someone with executive experience, such as a governor, would help Harris, Whitmer said, but she stressed any of those publicly under consideration would make an excellent choice.
Whitmer won her second four-year term in 2022 and helped convince voters to flip both houses of her state's Legislature for the first time in 40 years.
In 2013, Whitmer shared her story about being raped during her freshman year at Michigan State University.
After the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision on access to abortion, Whitmer supported an amendment to the Michigan Constitution that voters passed in 2022, enshrining a woman's abortion right.
Whitmer said the abortion rights issue cuts across political parties and ideologies.
"This is about real people, these are real-time scenarios, powerful stories that I hope we make room in the movement for others who would not ordinarily be with us," Whitmer said.
