If rising pressure forces Joe Biden to withdraw from the candidacy for president, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer might be a Democratic contender.
Whitmer states in her latest book, True Gretch, that she wishes to meet the far-right militiamen who planned to abduct and murder her.
The arrests of thirteen people in late 2020 exposed a conspiracy whose inspiration was opposition to public health measures aimed at reducing the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to several trials and appeals, the possibility of speaking with the plotters has not materialized, despite claims to the contrary made by Michigan’s attorney general, Dana Nessel.
Eight people were accused of participating in the preparation and execution of a plot to assault the state Capitol and abduct public leaders as a consequence of the “Wolverine Watchmen” incident, which led to the conviction of twenty state offenses. The jury found five individuals guilty and acquitted four others. Two of them cooperated with the prosecution and entered guilty pleas to conspiracy counts.
In her book, Whitmer recounts the plan and her struggles to cope with it and other threats from the armed pro-Trump extreme right. The book’s US publication is scheduled for next week. Several are eager to read Whitmer’s book since she is one of several candidates being touted as Biden’s successor following last week’s Democratic hysteria over the president’s dismal debate with Donald Trump.
Whitmer does not sugarcoat the violent plot against her. She thinks about how much her husband, girls, and herself have suffered. She goes into detail about how threats caused her husband to shut down his dentistry business, how her kids refused to return to the family cottage that the plotters had “scoped out,” and how she was disappointed when two men were found not guilty.
Even though the United States and the battleground state of Michigan are deeply divided along political lines, Whitmer maintains that she wants to speak with her assailants.
Although she mentions it briefly in her book, Whitmer does not explicitly state that she wants to run for president.
Democrats have been rattled by Biden’s rapid decline in cognitive function and may very well welcome the Governor in the mix.