Whitmer backs Trump impeachment

By: Susan J. Demas - December 18, 2019 2:14 pm

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer talks to reporters at the Lansing Brewing Co. | Nick Manes

On the day the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote to impeach President Donald Trump, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she backs that move.

President Donald J. Trump delivers remarks at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Conference and Exposition Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, at the McCormick Place Convention Center Chicago in Chicago. | Official White House Photo: Shealah Craighead via Flickr Public Domain

The governor previously said she supports the impeachment inquiry. At a roundtable with reporters Wednesday afternoon, the Advance asked Whitmer if she supported the vote. Whitmer noted U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly), a former CIA analyst who flipped a GOP district in 2018 and announced at a Monday town hall that she supported both articles of impeachment.

“You know, I’ve watched with great interest — Elissa Slotkin, my congresswoman — how she navigated, how she did her due diligence and how she came to her decision. And frankly, how she engaged with the public about all of those pieces and I have a great deal of admiration for her.

“And if I were in her position and was having to make that choice, I, too, would make the vote that she is going to be making, so yes.”

Trump is slated to hold a rally in Battle Creek on Wednesday night.

Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.

Susan J. Demas

Susan J. Demas is a 23-year journalism veteran and one of the state’s foremost experts on Michigan politics, appearing on C-SPAN, MSNBC, CNN, NPR and WKAR-TV’s “Off the Record.” In addition to serving as Editor-in-Chief, she is the Advance’s chief columnist, writing on women, LGBTQ people, the state budget, the economy and more. For almost five years, Susan was the Editor and Publisher of Inside Michigan Politics, the most-cited political newsletter in the state. Susan’s award-winning political analysis has run in more than 100 national, international and regional media outlets, including the Guardian U.K., NBC News, the New York Times, the Detroit News and MLive.