Latest news with #OfficeofIntergovernmentalAffairs
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Whitmer explains her Oval Office folder fiasco
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., said she regrets hiding her face during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office last week. Whitmer poked fun at the now-viral moment by once again holding folders up in front of her face when asked about her trip to Washington, D.C., during an event at the Detroit Economic Club on Monday. "… I don't want my picture taken, that's all it was. I kind of wished I hadn't put my folder up in front of my face, but whatever. You know I was there … I just wrote a book about learning to laugh at yourself, so I'm pretty good at it. We all have our moments," Whitmer said. Whitmer was criticized for shielding her face as the photo became a meme on social media. Alex Meyer, deputy assistant to the president and White House director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs who was standing to Whitmer's left in the photo, joked that it's his new profile photo. Whitmer Ditches Dem Playbook On Trump's Tariffs Amid 2028 Speculation The Michigan governor's trip to Washington last week brought her 2028 presidential ambitions into the national conversation as she struck a diplomatic tone with Trump. She carefully criticized Trump's tariffs while saying she understood the "motivation behind the tariffs" and even agreeing with Trump that we "need to make more stuff in America." Read On The Fox News App Dem Governors Revolt Against Trump's 'Liberation Day' Tariffs Whitmer's viral Oval Office moment marked her second meeting with Trump in less than a month. As Trump signed executive orders and answered questions from the press, he said Whitmer had "done an excellent job" as governor and called her a "very good person," a break from his typical lines of attack on her character. "One of her opponents will dig that clip up and put it in a television ad," Brad Bannon, a Democrat strategist and the president of Bannon Communications Research, told Fox News Digital. Bannon warned that Whitmer, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, getting too close to Trump could jeopardize her status as a "first-tier presidential candidate" alongside fellow governors Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Gavin Newsom of California. Gretchen Whitmer Ribbed Online For Seeming To Hide Face In Oval Office As Trump signed executive orders calling for the investigation of two first-term administration aides who were critical of his actions, Whitmer's office said she was brought into the room "without any notice" and that her appearance was "not an endorsement of the actions taken or statements made." But Trump called the issues "bipartisan" and jokingly added, "We'll all stand there together and cut a ribbon. OK, Gretchen?" Whitmer's diplomatic moves last week seemed to put her out of step with her party as Democrat governors, many rumored to harbor 2028 presidential ambitions, spoke out against Trump's tariffs as governors JB Pritzker of Illinois and Newsom worked independently with trade partners to try to soften the damage to their state economies. "If you're not at the table, you're on the menu," Whitmer said after her speech in Washington last week, seeming to explain her diplomatic tone. Whitmer's office explained that she was meeting with Trump to discuss recovery aid for the northern Michigan ice storm, investing in Michigan's defense assets and building the American economy for everyday article source: Whitmer explains her Oval Office folder fiasco
Fox News
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Whitmer explains her Oval Office folder fiasco
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., said she regrets hiding her face during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office last week. Whitmer poked fun at the now-viral moment by once again holding folders up in front of her face when asked about her trip to Washington, D.C., during an event at the Detroit Economic Club on Monday. "… I don't want my picture taken, that's all it was. I kind of wished I hadn't put my folder up in front of my face, but whatever. You know I was there … I just wrote a book about learning to laugh at yourself, so I'm pretty good at it. We all have our moments," Whitmer said. Whitmer was criticized for shielding her face as the photo became a meme on social media. Alex Meyer, deputy assistant to the president and White House director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs who was standing to Whitmer's left in the photo, joked that it's his new profile photo. The Michigan governor's trip to Washington last week brought her 2028 presidential ambitions into the national conversation as she struck a diplomatic tone with Trump. She carefully criticized Trump's tariffs while saying she understood the "motivation behind the tariffs" and even agreeing with Trump that we "need to make more stuff in America." Whitmer's viral Oval Office moment marked her second meeting with Trump in less than a month. As Trump signed executive orders and answered questions from the press, he said Whitmer had "done an excellent job" as governor and called her a "very good person," a break from his typical lines of attack on her character. "One of her opponents will dig that clip up and put it in a television ad," Brad Bannon, a Democrat strategist and the president of Bannon Communications Research, told Fox News Digital. Bannon warned that Whitmer, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, getting too close to Trump could jeopardize her status as a "first-tier presidential candidate" alongside fellow governors Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Gavin Newsom of California. As Trump signed executive orders calling for the investigation of two first-term administration aides who were critical of his actions, Whitmer's office said she was brought into the room "without any notice" and that her appearance was "not an endorsement of the actions taken or statements made." But Trump called the issues "bipartisan" and jokingly added, "We'll all stand there together and cut a ribbon. OK, Gretchen?" Whitmer's diplomatic moves last week seemed to put her out of step with her party as Democrat governors, many rumored to harbor 2028 presidential ambitions, spoke out against Trump's tariffs as governors JB Pritzker of Illinois and Newsom worked independently with trade partners to try to soften the damage to their state economies. "If you're not at the table, you're on the menu," Whitmer said after her speech in Washington last week, seeming to explain her diplomatic tone. Whitmer's office explained that she was meeting with Trump to discuss recovery aid for the northern Michigan ice storm, investing in Michigan's defense assets and building the American economy for everyday Michiganders.
Axios
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Dan Koh launches "The People's Cabinet" to bolster Dems new media
Daniel Arrigg Koh, a former senior aide in the Biden White House, is launching a new media venture — starting with a podcast, "The People's Cabinet" — to help alleviate Democrats' shortfall in new media. Why it matters: Koh says the podcast is inspired by the "shadow cabinet" in the U.K. and other countries, to provide "an inspiring, alternative vision for our country's future, while giving listeners the tools to persuade the people Democrats need to win again." "The People's Cabinet" is the first venture of Koh's new company, Reverate Media, which is aimed at closing the Democratic disadvantage across new media ecosystems. The podcast will feature Democratic thinkers, officials and rising leaders who can articulate substantive policy alternatives to the Trump administration. What they're saying: "It's not just anti-Trump and anti-MAGA," Koh told Axios. In a YouTube trailer, Koh says: "I'm here to ask the tough questions to understand how government works, and how we can make it better. ... Because the world doesn't change when we don't show up." The backstory: Koh, 40, was the White House's deputy Cabinet secretary and an official in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Earlier, he was chief of staff at the Labor Department and chief of staff under Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. He also worked with Arianna Huffington as a media executive at Huffington Post during its peak traffic years, and was a venture-backed technology executive. Koh has an undergraduate degree and MBA from Harvard. He's a native of Andover, Massachusetts, and lives in D.C. He's a frequent CNN guest.
