The PBS NewsHour interviewed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-Michigan) on Monday night, and the mild online headline was “Gov. Whitmer discusses Democrats’ efforts to protect reproductive rights.” Anchor Amna Nawaz’s questions, if they were at all challenging, sounded like a worried Biden voter that there’s low enthusiasm and not enough courting of the party’s hard left.
On abortion, Nawaz channeled the Planned Parenthood crowd and their laments Biden doesn’t proudly use the A-word:
NAWAZ: You clearly and other Democratic leaders also believe this is a key issue in mobilizing Democrats, also independents. You have said previously that maybe President Biden should speak about reproductive rights and should say the word abortion more frequently than he does.
He's displayed some discomfort with that, changing the language even in the State of the Union to avoid saying that word. If this is such a key issue for Democrats, does his reluctance to say that word hurt him politically?
Then the anchor with Pakistani origins picked up the Israel-hating leftist voters who chose “Uncommitted” in Michigan’s primary and call the president “Genocide Joe.” Nawaz asked if Biden could “overcome some of the weaknesses we have seen President Biden displayed so far, especially with those more than 100,000 people in the primaries voting uncommitted?”
Then she followed up: "As you know, those more than 100,000 people, though, were voting as a protest to oppose President Biden's stance in Israel, their conduct in the war in Gaza. They were doing it to send a message. I guess, as one of the co-chairs of the Biden/Harris reelection campaign, where would you point those protesters to say 'they heard you, they see you?'"
She didn't ask" "Some imams in Dearborn have said they want to kill all the Jews? Are you proud to have their votes?"
The funniest Whitmer answer came when Nawaz touted a New York Times columnist forwarding “fantasizing” that Whitmer could replace Biden this year:
NAWAZ: As you know, Governor, you're seen as a rising leader in your Democratic Party. There was a recent New York Times column by Michelle Goldberg I want to ask you about, because she wrote this. She said — quote — "There are many reasons that people regularly fantasize about Whitmer replacing Biden on this year's ticket and, assuming that doesn't happen, see her as a likely presidential prospect in 2028. She insists she's not interested, but few seem to believe her" — end quote.
I want to ask you, how much of that speculation do you think is fueled by what we know is low enthusiasm and dissatisfaction for the Democratic candidate in President Biden right now? And how does that change before November?
WHITMER: You know, I don't know. I didn't read the article.
Yeah, sure, you didn’t read the article! (Push the Lie buzzer!) Like Kamala Harris, Whitmer made noises about how proud she is to be by Biden’s side.
What might a Republican ask Whitmer? That’s a good way to figure out what PBS was never gonna ask!
