Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) agreed in a recent podcast interview that she thinks the nation is facing a “constitutional crisis” under President Trump, particularly as he has openly pushed back on court orders that would restrict his executive actions.
“We are,” Whitmer said when asked in an interview that will be released on Friday’s episode of “Pod Save America,” a progressive political podcast. “The thought that we’ve got an administration that is just blatantly violating court orders should, I think, scare everybody”
“This is very serious moment,” she added.
In the first 100 days of his second term, Trump has openly tested the limits of the presidency. He’s forced a dramatic overhaul of the federal government and spending, without Congressional approval; implemented new tariffs on foreign imports; opted not to enforce a law banning the video sharing app TikTok; called for the impeachment of at least one judge over a court order regarding his immigration crackdown efforts; and denounced a Supreme Court order to temporarily halt deportations of undocumented migrants.
Democrats have repeatedly sounded alarms that Trump is creating a “constitutional crisis” since beginning his second term, and Whitmer told Pod Save America’s hosts she thinks that Republicans and Trump allies should join them.
“There are a lot of people that aren’t doing their jobs to protect the foundations of this country, and many of us are fighting the fights that we can, but ultimately the courts have gotta be able to have the last word,” Whitmer said. “This undermines the foundations of our country on every level when this happens.”
Part of the episode, including Whitmer’s interview was posted online Thursday ahead of its release.
Whitmer, widely seen as a potential 2028 presidential contender, has been a vocal critic of Trump and called him “deranged” before the November 2024 election.
But she appeared alongside Trump in Michigan earlier this week as he announced a new fighter jet mission at the Selfridge Air National Guard Base. Calling her over for surprise remarks, Trump praised Whitmer for doing a “very good job” of advocating for the military installation in her state.
Whitmer addressed the joint appearance, which rankled some Democrats, during the new podcast interview.
“One of the things that I’ve learned is, I’ve gotta put the people in Michigan first over my self-interests — over maybe what people assume are gonna be my political interests,” she said.
The Michigan governor also with Trump at the White House in early April to lobby for the Selfridge project, and viral photos emerged of her shielding her face with blue folders when reporters were brought into the Oval Office for an unrelated event. Whitmer’s team quickly clarified that her appearance wasn’t an endorsement of the president.
In the podcast episode, Whitmer described being surprised by the event and quickly looking for an exit.
“No one reported that I left the room to go talk to my staff person,” she recalled. “I said, ‘We gotta get word out because the stuff that’s going on in there, I cannot be associated with that.'”