Image via screenshot
Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer was mocked and criticized online after a photo went viral that showed her partially hiding behind a stack of binders during an Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump.
The image, captured by New York Times photographer Eric Lee, showed Whitmer standing off to the side as Trump signed a series of executive orders, including one that targeted a law firm which is now suing over it.
Clutching several binders in front of her face, the Democratic governor appeared to shield herself from the cameras, as was noted by several users posting on X:
Whitmer was at the White House as part of a bipartisan delegation to discuss a number of state-related issues, including recovery efforts from a recent ice storm, tariffs, and federal support for an Air National Guard base near Detroit.
According to CNN, her visit was intended as a policy-focused meeting, not a public appearance.
The visit took a turn in another direction when Trump’s aides unexpectedly brought Whitmer into the Oval Office during a press availability, positioning her behind the president as he signed executive orders.
Apparently caught off-guard, Whitmer was visibly uncomfortable. The New York Times reported she “stood glumly in the Oval Office, hoping no one would take her picture,” while Democratic strategists privately questioned how she ended up there.
The image of Whitmer hiding her face led to mockery on X:
The NYT reports:
She had not expected to be there, standing in front of the cameras, as President Trump signed executive orders punishing those who opposed his 2020 election lies. Ms. Whitmer, a prominent Democrat seen as a possible 2028 presidential candidate, had come to the White House to discuss funding for an Air National Guard base near Detroit and aid for thousands of Michiganders who had just been hit by an ice storm.
Then Mr. Trump’s aides surprised her on Wednesday by ushering her into the Oval Office not for her scheduled one-on-one meeting with the president, but for a politically loaded appearance before the press corps. She found herself an unwilling participant in his unending reality show, with photos of her rocketing around group chats of Democratic strategists who wondered what on earth she was doing.
Read more on the visit from the Times here.
