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Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Thursday President Donald Trump has helped her deliver for the state, pointing to a specific fighter jet mission she tried to secure during the Biden administration but couldn’t.
Whitmer spoke to Newsom on his podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom,” and said she needed to figure out how to conduct herself after the 2024 presidential election because her state had voted for Trump again.
Newsom noted Whitmer had visited the White House, and the pair both agreed a working relationship with the president was “part of the job.”
“I’ve gotten some really good stuff done. Honestly,” she told Newsom. “I got a fighter mission at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, and I tried to get that done under the Biden administration, couldn’t get over the finish line, but I got it done with him. So, that’s a huge deal to Michigan.”
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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks as President Donald Trump looks on during remarks to the Michigan National Guard at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Warren, Mich., April 29, 2025. (AFP via Getty Images)
Former President Joe Biden’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Whitmer appeared to be referring to Mission Next, which will replace the retiring A-10 Warthog aircraft based at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan with 21 brand-new F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets. The mission is part of a modernization plan for the National Guard Base, according to the National Guard’s website, which includes construction and infrastructure upgrades that will create jobs and new training opportunities.
Trump shared details of the new fighter jet mission in April 2025 during a speech to National Guard members at the Michigan base for an event commemorating his 100th day in office.
“Fresh off the line. That means they are brand new,” Trump said at the time. “They’ve never been anywhere. This is where they’re going to be for a long time. And I saw one of them, flew over my head, and I said, ‘What the hell is that?’ That plane has serious power. So, this is the best there is anywhere in the world, the F-15EX Eagle II. This will keep Selfridge at the cutting edge of Northern American air power.”
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President Donald Trump arrives to speak to members of the Michigan National Guard at Selfridge Air National Guard Base April 29, 2025, in Harrison Township, Mich. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)
“While Joe Biden’s weak policies neglected our military, President Trump saved Selfridge Air National Guard Base, a crucial pillar of North American air defense; rebuilt our military; and restored readiness and lethality to our U.S. Armed Forces,” White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales told Fox News Digital Friday.
“With President Trump as commander in chief, the United States Military will continue to lead the world in power, prestige, and might,” Wales continued. “President Trump proudly won the state of Michigan in 2024, and will continue to deliver on his promises for all Michiganders.”
Whitmer said during the podcast conversation with Newsom that she knew how to work with people who weren’t her best friends, even if she didn’t like it.
The Michigan governor went viral in April 2025 for attempting to hide her face while photos were being taken during an Oval Office meeting with the president. She explained the moment days later and said she just didn’t want her picture taken.
“I don’t want my picture taken, that’s all it was. I kind of wished I hadn’t put my folder up in front of my face, but whatever. You know I was there … I just wrote a book about learning to laugh at yourself, so I’m pretty good at it. We all have our moments,” Whitmer said.
Trump notably praised Whitmer at the time, calling her a “very good person,” even though the pair have traded barbs in the past.
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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer looks on as U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House April 9, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
However, the White House called out the Democratic governor in April after a local steel manufacturing company announced it would soon pour $43.4 million into expanding its Michigan-based operations.
“Democrats like Gretchen Whitmer spent decades talking about fixing broken trade deals and creating manufacturing jobs here in America for American workers,” Kush Desai, a White House spokesperson, told Fox News Digital earlier this year about the Michigan governor, who is often floated as a potential Democratic candidate for president in 2028.
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“President Trump is actually delivering, and he’s delivering with the same agenda of tariffs, deregulation.”
