Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) weighed in on the Republican claims that when Vice President Harris becomes the Democratic nominee for president it will be an “undemocratic” shift, saying “give me a break.”
Asked by Fox News Digital what she thinks of the criticism coming from the GOP about Harris’s rise to the top of the ticket, Whitmer brushed off the concerns.
“It’s hard to take the Republican criticism serious because one day, it’s ‘Joe Biden shouldn’t be running’ and the next day it’s ‘well, he should be running,’” she said Thursday. “Give me a break.”
The Michigan governor was responding to GOP criticism that the late campaign switch-up between President Biden — who announced Sunday that he would not seek reelection — and Harris is bypassing the proper democratic processes.
Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), who was recently tapped as former President Trump’s running mate, said the coronation of Harris is a “threat to democracy,” per reports.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick claimed in a statement that Democrats took Biden off the ticket because they knew he would lose, ignoring the results of the primary elections earlier this year.
Whitmer, who has been rumored to be on Harris’s vice presidential shortlist, said Biden dedicated decades of his life to service and has been an “incredible” leader and ally.
As co-chair of the Biden campaign, the Michigan governor said the president’s announcement that he was suspending his campaign came as “a surprise.”
The Michigan governor has enthusiastically endorsed Harris, saying she was “fired up” to back the vice president in her historic campaign. She added that Harris has more experience than “the whole GOP ticket put together.”
“I think it’s the right decision and that’s why we have a vice president,” Whitmer said. “Kamala Harris has been his No. 2 for four years. No one should be surprised that if he steps away that she’s the one to step into the breach.”