“He’s Up For This” - Gov. Whitmer On President Biden’s Ability To Serve A Second Term

Thank you, my friends. Welcome back. Ladies and gentlemen, my first guest tonight is a two-term governor of Michigan and the author of the new memoir, True Gretsch. Please welcome to the Late Show, Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Nice to have you on. First time I've had a chance to talk to you. Obviously, I've been following your career for many years now. And for the people who don't know, you're a national co-chair of the Biden campaign. And the debate is still what everybody is talking about. What debate? Did you not get a chance to catch it? Did you watch the debate? I've seen clips of the debate. You did watch the debate? I was actually out on the West Coast with a couple of my colleagues doing a fundraiser. And they don't have TV out there. I forgot. They don't have television in California. Yeah, exactly. It's true. What was your reaction? Were you just like, you know what? Stay the course. Doesn't matter. Full speed ahead. Joe, or did it give you pause at all? I like your tie. I did watch your. So that's how it's going to be. OK. After the debate, 41% of Democrats worry about the president's cognitive abilities. Should the Democrats consider someone else? Which is not a crazy question. I mean, even George Clooney today name-checked you in his editorial in The New York Times that you would be an excellent option. It's got to be a little flattering, right? He name-checked me and a handful of other folks. And the good news is, there is. But they're not here tonight. That's right. So who cares about that? Exactly. No, you know, I think that the debate rattled a lot of people, right? It was a lousy performance. I don't think anyone's disputing that. I spent some time with the president in the White House with a number of my colleagues shortly after the debate. I talked to him this past weekend with all the other vice chairs of his campaign, co-chairs. And you know, he's up for this. I know that there is a lot of nervousness. This is a high-stakes election. But I can tell you, you know, I come from Michigan. This is the swingiest of swing states. This is the, I meant that as swing voters. Sure. It's late night. It's fine. Swing away. But you know, as I talk to people across Michigan, their biggest concerns are trying to keep money in their pocket, make sure their kids are set up for success, making sure that they don't get shot when they go to school, and sure that they can drive on the roads, fixing the damn roads. Joe Biden has receipts on every one of these fronts. They know that. And I think that that's really important not to lose sight of. Yeah, he had a crappy debate. No question about it. And yet, this is a decision between four years of Joe Biden continuing the work that he's gotten started this first term or Donald Trump. So you feel perfectly confident that he is up for the job for the next four years? He is up for the job for the next four years. And I am working my tail off on his behalf and trying to make sure that Michigan, we turn out and we turn out for Biden. Well, one of the things that Democrats have a lot of trouble doing these days because of Donald Trump and sort of the crazy behavior that he exhibits is they have trouble getting attention. Well, Biden and the Democrats have a lot of attention right now. Now that the Democrats have the attention, what should y'all do with it? I think right now, all eyes are on the president. And he's got to prove to the American public that he is up for this. And he is doing that, hosting NATO right now. He'll be in Michigan on Friday. He is getting all across the country. And I think you're going to see how energized this president is. We got to talk about the issues, though, that matter to people. The average person is working their tail off, gets home at night and is tired, and they just want to put food on the table and make sure that their kids are OK. They're not consuming all the media like we are and like probably most of your viewers are. They just want a level shot at getting ahead. And this president gets it. And he's working for that. He has dedicated his life to serving the public. Donald Trump serves one person, and that's Donald Trump. And we can't forget it. He has 34 convictions. OK. But I'm glad it's a slow news week so we can talk about my book. Exactly. There's nothing else. Well, the funny thing is the book is here it is. It's a it's true Gretch, which I assume is a play on true true grit. Yeah, good. Yes, you've got it. Took me a minute. But I am in entertainment. And, you know, a lot of times and I know you're like, oh, let go, Joe. But a lot of times a memoir from a politician is a trial balloon for a presidential run. And I'm just curious, at what point in the last 12 days did you write this? Yeah, I mean, you know, it's easy to write a book and get it published. Well, it's in the slender. I know. You could have shouted into a dictaphone on the way to work. You write in the book that you were you were born and raised in Michigan. You understand Michiganders, which is one of my favorite names for any state peoples is Michiganders. You've never lost a statewide election. And even though the polls are tied, you say don't freak out about polling. What do you know about Michiganders that we don't? Well, Michiganders are hard, good working people. They expect their leaders to work as hard, if not harder than they do, and be as good, if not better than they are, to show up and do the work every day. As I get around the state, we're pragmatic people too, right? We work hard and we want a fair shot. We expect government to get the job done. When I ran the first time, I listened to people all across all 83 counties. And whether I was in Detroit, which is where NDEA is from, NDEA over there, or I'm in the Upper Peninsula. Michigan is a huge state. I ask people, if I'm elected governor, what can I do that's going to make your life better? And people said, fix the damn roads. And that's what I heard over and over again. And I was in. Is that how you won seven counties that Donald Trump won in your re-election? Like, what did you do to turn those counties? I think it's listening to people. You know, it's a lost art in politics. But if you ask people what they want, they'll tell you. And when I was in the Detroit Children's Hospital, I was talking to a woman named Bridget Bonds from Flint. And I said, if I'm elected, what can I do for you? And she said, fix the damn roads. And I was surprised, because here's a mom in the hospital with her child. So I said, why is that the first thing out of your mouth? And she explained. Driving from Flint to Detroit, she had a pothole. It sidelined her for a whole day. She had to take money that she would have otherwise put toward rent or child care. She didn't see her son, who was in the hospital, that whole day. And so it was a moment for me that I realized that when you have the fundamental slide, it is the people on the bubble who pay the dearest price. It is about time. It is about money. It is about your family. And that's why focusing on the fundamentals. But you don't know that if you're not showing up everywhere and listening and asking that question. Well, this is, you obviously are very good at relating to your voters and addressing the concerns of your constituents. You're term limited, right? This is your last term. Yep, I got two and a half years left. Okay, and what do you want to do after that? Beats the heck out of me. Okay. Still politics? Like, is there anything more powerful than governor? I don't know. I love being governor. I'm just asking questions. We have to take a quick break. We'll be right back with more. Governor Gretchen Whitmer, everybody. Stick around.