The Keith Edwards Show - Gov. Whitmer Breaks Silence on Shocking Trump Meeting

Episode Date: April 16, 2025

Keith Edwards discusses Governor Whitmer’s unexpected and uncomfortable Oval Office meeting with Trump, highlighting her grace under pressure and commitment to doing what’s best for Michigan. He also covers Senator Van Hollen’s decision to travel to El Salvador to investigate the case of the man who was wrongly deported.

Gretchen Whitmer came under fire for a meeting she had with Donald Trump. We actually talked about this on the live show, which we have here on the channel at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays, please join us. But we had a poll where we asked the audience if they thought that this was the wrong move. And many of you did think it was a wrong move, and she came under fire for it. And here she is in this photo where she is obviously trying to hide from the fact that she just didn't want to have a picture there. But Gretchen Wimmer just came out with this response video where she talks about why she went, the circumstances for when she was going, and also how Donald Trump kind of created a situation she wasn't expecting. And here it is. Two weeks ago, we had a horrendous ice storm in northern Michigan.

If you get a quarter inch of ice, it is a catastrophe. We had an inch and half of ice in some places. Like it snapped utility poles in half, 3,500 utility poles snapped in half. You and I are talking, it's about 15 days since the first ice storm happened and then like four days into it, another one came through. 15 days in, we still have 5,500 people that don't have power. I mean, that's how serious it is and how scary. And so, you know, I went up and toured the area and I decided just, you know, last week I

called the president and said, I'm going to need some help, and I want to come in and tell you about this. By the way, I also wanted to talk about tariffs and an air national guard base, but he said, okay, come on number. So I went to D.C. this past week to go meet with the president about this, and they brought me in, not into a meeting, a one-on-one meeting, which is what I thought I was going for, but into a press conference that was about a bunch of stuff that I don't agree with. And I was kind of, what do you do? Do you make a scene? Well, that doesn't help the people. Michigan. Do you walk out? That doesn't help the people in Michigan. So I stood there. I walked out briefly to talk to my staff person and walked back in and then had my meeting. But I've gotten a lot of heat for it. But I had to ask for help for the people in Michigan. And public service, the way I was taught public service from both my

parents is you take an oath to put the people's interests above your own. And so while maybe I'm going to pay a price for that, I was doing the right thing for Michigan. So I got to tell, I mean, I don't know if that changes the way you feel about the situation, but I, one, always felt like this was the right move. I don't think she should have done this. She should have just, you know, she should just own the fact that she was there. I think this is part of the problem is that if you're going to do something and you feel like it's the right thing to do, then don't do this.

It's a conflicting, conflicting messaging. But I will say that I don't know if Gretchen Whitmer, is running for president or not, I don't think this will hurt a potential presidential run. It's so far away anyways. But I was also thinking when watching this, isn't this what we want out of our leaders? Like, if she were to become president, don't we want her to take the meeting with Putin and to say, hey, here's what's going on, to be able to go to like NMA territory and be a leader for the people she represents?

I think this to me means that she is truly a leader because she's not thinking about herself. Obviously, this selfish thing for her to do or to be to not engage with President Trump because she knows politically if she wants to make it out of a presidential primary, this is a thing that could ding her. Now, I don't think it should ding her, but to me, this speaks to the fact that she is a leader that we should be lifting up. We should be lifting up. I think her name is Niro Tandon had a quote on this.

Yeah, Nero Tandon had a quote on this today. Vahemit, vehement biff. Vaheimiently disagree with. Democrats from the center to the left believe Trump is an autocrat who represents an existential threat to democracy and our rights, said Nero Tandon, the chief executive of the Center for American Progress, a top liberal thinking. They expect their leaders to meet the moment by fighting his dictatorial attacks,

not placate, negotiate, or assuage because doing so makes them stronger and bullies others. All right, near a tandon. Well, there are Michiganders who were hurting because of the weather. You don't want the governor of Michigan to engage with the president of the United States and try to help the people of her state because you think that it is, what did you say, assuaging an autocrat? Well, unfortunately, this is the set of circumstances we have right now, and I personally don't believe that people, that innocent people should suffer anymore than they already are just because we don't like the person who is in power at the moment. And I thought this is really interesting that, and this has not been reported before, that the day after the presidential inauguration, Ms. Whitmer, penned a handwritten letter, which has not been previously.

reported congratulating Mr. Trump saying she looked forward to working together and praising his support for the auto industry and his first address according to a person who relayed the text of the letter. Ms. Whitmer included her cell phone number and invited Mr. Trump to call her as she could be of any help to him. The outreach worked for her, but it came at a cost, which we've just discussed. And, you know, this is one way to do it. This is one way to do it. Governor Newsom is showing a different way. And this just came out. California is going to Sue Trump to stop imposing sweeping tariffs. California Governor Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that his state will file a lawsuit challenging President Trump's authority to impose sweeping tariffs.

They have set off a global trade war. The suit will argue that Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs in Mexico, Canada and China, or 10% tariff on all imports, is unlawful. That's true. That is true. in a normal lawful society, this would be a slam dunk case. I don't know what's going to happen, but this is true. He is, this is an unconstitutional thing he is doing. It is Congress who can impose taxes, not the executive.

And I want to end with this. Senator Chris Van Hollen is going to El Salvador. This is a leader. This is a leader. I want to let him explain it, but he posted this on YouTube, and I think this is what we need so much more from our leaders. We had on the live show yesterday, which is on Tuesdays and Fridays at 7 p.m. Eastern, we had rep Robert Garcia, who is also trying to create a task force of congressmen and congresspeople who are going to try to go to El Salvador. door. And I think this is what we need to do. We have to start taking action. We need our leaders to take action. And this, to me, whether it's Governor Whitmer, doing what she needs for

her state, Governor Newsome, making sure that people understand that this is an unlawful thing Donald Trump is doing and trying to fight him in the courts, or the senators and members of Congress who are putting their bodies on the line to try to expose the, um, un-American acts this president is doing. We have to do all of it. We have to do all of it. So thank you, Chris Van Hollen, and I will see you next time.