Gretchen Whitmer Says She Gratitude-Journaled Through Assassination, Kidnapping Attempts

At a panel of Democratic women governors moderated by Julia Louis-Dreyfus during the DNC, Whitmer seemed pretty unfazed by the far-right threats on her life.

By Kylie Cheung  |  August 21, 2024 | 8:19pm
Photo: Getty Images Politics Democratic National Convention
Gretchen Whitmer Says She Gratitude-Journaled Through Assassination, Kidnapping Attempts

CHICAGO — A few months ago, my therapist recommended that I start keeping a gratitude journal of a couple of things that brought me joy at the end of each day. Sure, it sounds nice in theory but I dropped the practice within a week because I am an enormous baby and at the first minor inconvenience, I forfeited my quest toward positivity and enlightenment. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and I do not have this in common!

At a panel of eight Democratic women governors on Wednesday, moderated by none other than the Veep herself, Ms. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Whitmer fielded a question about how she not only keeps going but also keeps her trademark sense of humor through the many trials and tribulations she’s faced as governor.

Whitmer, lest you forget, survived kidnapping and assassination attempts from a far-right militia group in 2020 after she adopted standard covid protections to rein in the pandemic. Since being elected in 2018, far-right forces have tried to recall her 28 times, all while Michigan has been struck with climate disasters and, in 2023, a mass shooting. Through it all, Whitmer managed to govern her deep-purple state effectively and still have time to fire off punchy jokes on social media. Her secret?

“I do keep a gratitude journal, I write down three things at the end of every day that gave me some joy. Some days, it’s really easy, my list is like 10 long,” Whitmer told the audience, after Louis-Dreyfus asked how she keeps “fighting the good fight.” Some days, however, the list is “just my dog and my bed and tequila,” she said. The crowd seemed to really relate to that last line! Whitmer stressed that “even on the hardest days,” it’s “[going] out and [engaging] with people” instead of “[hiding] under my covers” that lifts her spirit—even through, once again, a literal assassination attempt. It’s a level of resilience that I can very much applaud but not relate to, even in the slightest.

Whitmer also told the audience that her gratitude list for that day would include at least eight things—her seven colleagues on-stage and Louis-Dreyfus. It’s well-documented that Whitmer and the other Democratic women governors are close, even sharing a buzzy, intimate group chat that the 19th reported on back in May—and their chemistry certainly showed on stage.

At different points, Louis-Dreyfus and Maura Healey of Massachusetts riffed on the importance of having a “Gary”—aka the lovably pitiful bag-man who was permanently at Selina Meyer’s side—and actually treating your “Gary” right. When the subject of abortion came up, Louis-Dreyfus quoted Selina’s infamous line, “If men got pregnant you could get an abortion at an ATM,” and the comedic timing was perfection.

The women assembled to talk about progress toward achieving gender parity among state governors and the importance of gender parity up and down the ballot, and it was a wholesome, funny little shin-dig. I might just scribble this panel down in my own gratitude journal tonight.

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