On Tuesday, ABC Good Morning America co-anchor George Stephanopoulos interviewed Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer about her recently released book, True Gretch. Unsurprisingly, Stephanopoulos focused more on politics and her personal life rather than the book itself.
Stephanopoulos mentioned that Whitmer’s new book calls for people to “look for the good in any person or situation.” He then asked her, “Where is the good?” since Democrats have been “feeling pretty stressed the last several days.”
Whitmer’s answer was the following:
I wanted to make sure people see some of the lessons that I've used it to get through these last six years and so I do think that in times of stress it is more important than ever to listen and to ask people what's going on in their lives, try to see the humanity in one another, and try to find some good out of any situation and I think that’s a key to getting through hard times.
Stephanopoulos wondered, “Have you found any now?”
She replied, “I think there are conversations that are happening that maybe weren’t before.” She then relayed a story of how she had sat down with farmers from a conservative area in Michigan just to “check in,” adding that “the power of listening is important.”
Wanting to lob even more softballs, Stephanopoulos questioned Whitmer on how she has been “dealing with bullies.” She responded that she has received many “schoolyard insults” and people commenting on the dress she wore to her State of the State address. Following the remarks made about the dress, Whitmer took to social media seeking empathy and compassion.
Whitmer also stated that a “former president” singled her out and “encouraged people to hurt me and my family.” Previously, Whitmer had attempted to connect Donald Trump with a Michigan militia group in 2020.
Stephanopoulos had actually encouraged Whitmer to keep blaming Trump despite never acknowledging that one of the main suspects in the militia group was a “Trump hating anarchist.” The leader was sentenced to 16 years in prison while three others were acquitted because defense attorneys successfully argued that FBI informants drove the plot forward.
Falsely tying Trump to the militia doesn’t sound like looking “for the good in any person.” Nevertheless, Stephanopoulos quickly jumped at the chance to bash Trump as he asked, “What did you learn about dealing with Donald Trump and what lessons can Democrats take in the next several months from that?”
Whitmer’s response was that to “deal with the bully you take their weapon and make it your shield.”
After finally being asked to hear more about her book, Whitmer called it a book where “you don't have to read every chapter in succession and it really is something that happened in my life, or a lesson that I learned, and how I used it over some of the challenges of these last six years.”
Stephanopoulos finished by describing Michigan as a “must-win for Democrats” and asked Whitmer where the state stood now. She explained that Michigan people are “hardworking” and expect their leaders to “work hard if not harder.” Whitmer concluded that the reason Michigan has been such a “successful” Democratic state is because they roll up their sleeves and “do the work.”
Click "Expand" to view the transcript:
ABC Good Morning America
7/9/2024
7:41:45 – 7:45:06
STEPHANOPOULOS: Let's talk about the book. You say -- one of the things you write about in the book is that your grandmother taught you to look for the good in any person or situation. For Democrats right now, a lot of them are feeling pretty stressed the last several days. Where is the good?
WHITMER: I think that's why I wrote this book. You know George, the question I get predominantly is, how do I stay optimistic with all this heavy stuff that we had to navigate? Knowing that this once again is gonna be another heavy political year, I wanted to make sure people see some of the lessons that I've used it to get through these last six years and so I do think that in times of stress it is more important than ever to listen and to ask people what's going on in their lives, try to see the humanity in one another, and try to find some good out of any situation and I think that’s a key to getting through hard times.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Have you found any now?
WHITMER: I think there are conversations that are happening that maybe weren’t before. I do always seek to sit down with folks, and in the book I talk a little bit about sitting down with farmers in Midland, Michigan, a pretty conservative part of my state, but just to check in and I found that we were experiencing a lot of the same things, and that I think is really powerful. The power of listening is important.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You also talked about what you learned dealing with bullies. Talk about that.
WHITMER: Well over the course of my life, like just about everyone I know, I've had to deal with some folks that have taken an aim at me, whether it is schoolyard insults, to people commenting on my dress during my first state of the state in Michigan, and to a former president who singled me out and encouraged people to hurt me and my family.
At the end of the day, I am an ordinary person in an extraordinary role serving during an extraordinary time, and staying focused, finding the good in any situation, and running to the fire I think are some of the lessons that have sustained me.
STEPHANOPOULOS: What did you learn about dealing with Donald Trump and what lessons can Democrats take in the next several months from that?
WHITMER: Well to deal with the bully you take their weapon and make it your shield. You laugh at a joke or you own "That woman from Michigan," the moniker that the former president gave me. We saw an Etsy community grow and women showing up at my events saying “I stand with that woman from Michigan.” And so we took someone else’s weapon and made it our shield. A call to action, something that people can unify around and I think that maybe is the best hack for dealing with bullies.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You say this book isn't really a memoir, more of a handbook. What do you mean by that?
WHITMER: Well you know it's a short book, you can pick it up, you don't have to read every chapter in succession and it really is something that happened in my life, or a lesson that I learned, and how I used it over some of the challenges of these last six years. Whether it was the insane flooding that we had that wiped out bridges, and that we had to evacuate 10,000 people in the middle of the night, in the middle of the pandemic, to the pandemic itself, to the kidnapping and murder plot that the public became aware of a couple years ago.
These are extraordinary circumstances, but certainly everyone has tough stuff they have to navigate, and that’s my hope, as you get a laugh or there’s a lesson or a little inspiration.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Your state is a must-win for Democrats. Where do things stand right now?
WHITMER: I think Michigan is always going to be, you know, a state that you can't take your eye off of. People in Michigan are good, hardworking people. We expect our leaders to be as good if not better and work just as hard if not harder and it's always going to be a close race. So, as I've told people, don't clutch your pearls when you see a poll where we’re down two points, don’t celebrate when we’re up two points. Roll up your sleeves and let’s do the work and I think that's why we've been so successful and that’ll continue to drive the work that we do going into November.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And what’s the most important thing you want people to learn about you from this book?
WHITMER: I'm a normal human being. I have shortcomings, I have had weird experiences, I have had some really wonderful victories, and if there is a lesson that someone can take from this to help them get through a hard time or a laugh to lighten the heaviness of this moment, that's what it’s all about.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Thanks for coming in today.
WHITMER: Thanks George.
STEPHANOPOULOS: True Gretch: What I've Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between is available right now.
