密歇根州民主党州长格雷琴·惠特默(Gretchen Whitmer)将对唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)总统周二的国情咨文作出回应，强调她作为一个州的领导人的角色，这个州是他在2016年赢得的，其州立法机构由共和党控制。
这位48岁的密歇根温和派在击败并谴责其共和党对手比尔·舒特的“恶毒言论”后，于2019年就职，后者试图将她描绘成“极端”和“密歇根历史上最左翼的候选人”尽管惠特默一再呼吁两党文明相处，但她仍与共和党占多数的州议会发生了一系列争执，但她一直专注于改善道路、确保清洁饮用水和扩大医疗补助的务实方法。惠特莫在2018年的选举中以所谓的“领导成员”的身份声名鹊起粉色波浪被选入国会和州立法机构的女性人数创下纪录。
周二上午，惠特默承认，她没有通过处理华盛顿的问题赢得州长席位，因为她太忙于关注当地问题。
“当我专注于餐桌上的问题时，我知道它会引起全国人民的共鸣...人们知道在推特上欺负人并不能搭建桥梁，”惠特莫在一次演讲中说记者招待会在国情咨文之前。“当华盛顿发生这种事情时，我们都要付出代价。”
两党的战略家都表示，民主党人选择惠特莫来发表国情咨文，是因为她统治着一个2020年的战场州，而自1988年以来，共和党总统候选人在每场竞选中都落败，特朗普在2016年颠覆了这个州。
惠特默有近20年的公共服务经验，2001年当选为州众议院议员，2007年进入密歇根州参议院。她是州参议院民主党核心小组的第一位女性领导人，也是前检察官。
但惠特默的当选也表明了她对两党解决方案的推动，以及对特朗普和华盛顿其他人支持的分裂言论的反复批评。
这位密歇根民主党人与州立法机构发生了一系列争执，包括去年年底9.47亿美元的僵局，共和党占多数的立法者对此做出回应，恢复了她否决的一半资金。去年12月，共和党参议院多数党领袖迈克·舍基(Mike Shirkey)抨击惠特默和州民主党人是“疯狂的一群”，促使惠特默对共和党控制的上议院领袖做出外交回应。
“我很难过看到这种花言巧语被使用。我认为这不利于我们找到共同点的能力回答。“这反映了我们在华盛顿看到的丑陋言论，我反对这种说法，我不会以牙还牙。”
据报道，惠特默的共和党州长竞选对手在2018年选举期间的一则攻击广告中使用了她被强奸的个人账户。今年2月，惠特默回应了当地福克斯新闻站，该站更关注她穿的衣服，而不是她支持的政策。
“从五年级开始，男孩们就取笑我的曲线。我妈妈说‘昂起你的头，不要让它打扰你’，惠特莫去年回应道。“那个@福克斯新闻的故事太出格了。我很坚强，我能承受...在一个有如此多女性走上领导岗位的时代，我希望人们会关注我们的想法和成就，而不是我们的外表。”
本周，惠特默致信特朗普政府，敦促他们在11月出台医疗补助财政责任监管计划后，结束医疗补助的缩减。“总统承诺保护医疗保险和医疗补助，但这仅仅是他的政府正在努力废除这些拯救生命的计划的另一个例子，”她告诉当地新闻媒体。
在州长初选期间，惠特默拒绝与她的民主党对手一起接受全民医保计划，尽管她后来告诉美联社，她在理论上支持这一计划。
惠特默否决了147万美元的自闭症项目拨款，并提高了该州45%的汽油税，这引起了争议，尽管竞选承诺与此相反。
马萨诸塞州民主党众议员乔·肯尼迪和落选的佐治亚州州长候选人史黛西·艾布拉姆斯向特朗普递交了2018年和2019年的国情咨文。
这位48岁的密歇根温和派在2019年就职，此前她谴责了共和党对手比尔·舒特的“恶毒言论”，后者试图将她描绘成“极端”左派。
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT GRETCHEN WHITMER, GOVERNOR OF MICHIGAN GIVING DEMOCRATIC RESPONSE TO TRUMP'S STATE OF THE UNION
Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer is set to respond to President Donald Trump's Tuesday State of the Union address, highlighting her role as leader of a state he won in 2016 and whose state legislature is controlled by Republicans.
The 48-year-old Michigan moderate took office in 2019 after defeating and denouncing the "nasty rhetoric" of her Republican opponent, Bill Schuette, who attempted to paint her as "extreme" and "the most left-wing ticket in Michigan history." Despite her repeated calls for bipartisan civility, Whitmer has engaged in a series of squabbles with the GOP-majority state Legislature but has focused on pragmatic approaches to improving roads, ensuring clean drinking water and Medicaid expansion. Whitmer gained national notoriety in the 2018 elections as a leading member of the so-called "Pink Wave" of women who were elected to Congress and state legislatures in record numbers.
On Tuesday morning, Whitmer acknowledged that she didn't win the governor's seat by taking on Washington's problems because she was too busy focusing on local issues.
"When I stay tethered to the dinner table issues I know it resonates with people all across our country ... People know that bullying people on Twitter doesn't build bridges," Whitmer said during a press conference ahead of the State of the Union address. "We all pay when that's what's happening in Washington D.C."
Strategists from both parties say Democrats chose Whitmer to deliver the State of the Union response because she governs a 2020 battleground state which Trump flipped in 2016 after Republican presidential candidates lost in every campaign since 1988.
Whitmer has nearly 20 years of public service experience, having been elected to the state House of Representatives in 2001 and then into the Michigan state senate in 2007. She was the first female leader of the Democrat caucus in the state senate and is a former prosecutor.
But Whitmer's selection is also indicative of her push for bipartisan solutions and repeated criticisms of divisive rhetoric espoused by Trump and others in Washington.
The Michigan Democrat has engaged in a series of spats with the state legislature, including a $947 million impasse at the end of last year which GOP-majority lawmakers responded to by restoring half of the funding she vetoed. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey blasted Whitmer and state Democrats as "on the bat-s**t crazy spectrum" in December, prompting Whitmer to respond diplomatically to the head of the GOP-controlled upper chamber.
"I'm sad to see the kind of rhetoric that's been used. I think that does a disservice to our ability to find some common ground," Whitmer responded. "It mirrors the ugly rhetoric that we're seeing in Washington, D.C., I ran against that and I'm not going to return in kind."
Whitmer's GOP gubernatorial challenger reportedly used her personal account of being raped in an attack ad during the 2018 election. In February, Whitmer responded to a local Fox news station which placed more concern on the clothes she wears than the policies she supports.
"Boys have teased me about my curves since 5th grade. My mom said 'hold your head high and don't let it bother you,'" Whitmer responded last year. "That @Fox2News story was way out of line. I'm tough, I can take it ... In an era when so many women are stepping up to lead, I'm hoping people will focus on our ideas and accomplishments instead of our appearance."
This week, Whitmer sent a letter to the Trump administration, urging them to end a scale-down on Medicaid in the wake of the Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Regulation plan in November. "The president pledged to protect Medicare and Medicaid, but this is just another example of his Administration's ongoing effort to gut these life-saving programs," she told local news outlets.
During her gubernatorial primary run, Whitmer declined to join her Democratic rivals in embracing Medicare-for-All plans, although she later told the Associated Press she supports it in theory.
Whitmer drew controversy for her veto of $1.47 million in grants for autism programs and a hike on the state's gas tax by 45 cents despite campaign promises to the contrary.
Democratic Congressman Joe Kennedy of Massachusetts and failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams delivered the 2018 and 2019 State of the Union responses to Trump.
The 48-year-old Michigan moderate took office in 2019 after denouncing the "nasty rhetoric" of her Republican opponent Bill Schuette, who attempted to paint her as an "extreme" leftist.
