She was a little old to play peek-a-boo in the White House.
Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer admitted Monday she made a mistake by trying to hide from photographers who came into the Oval Office where she was waiting to meet with President Trump last week.
“You asked me what was going on in my mind at that moment,” Whitmer said during an appearance at the Detroit Economic Club on Monday when asked why she held up two blue folders as the photographers snapped away April 9. “It was ‘I don’t want my picture taken’ — that’s all it was.”
“I kinda wish I hadn’t put my folder up in front of my face,” she added, “but whatever. We all have our moments.”
Whitmer, 53, has been mooted as a potential contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, but was roundly mocked over the awkward moment.
The Mitten State governor was in Washington to give remarks calling for a “consistent national strategy” to bring manufacturing back to the US.
She also called for cutting red tape and criticized Trump’s tariff plan as a “triple whammy: higher costs, fewer jobs and more uncertainty.”
Whitmer had initially been scheduled to meet with Trump privately to discuss issues affecting her state, but got mixed into an Oval Office crowd that watched the president sign executive orders — including authorization for the Justice Department to investigate two first-term critics.
“She’s really done an excellent job,” Trump quipped after spotting Whitmer. “Very good person.”
On Saturday, the New York Times published a photo of Whitmer trying to conceal her presence, similar to a child playing “If I can’t see you, you can’t see me.”
“It was not where I wanted to be or planned to be or would have liked to have been,” Whitmer told reporters Thursday. “I disagree with a lot of stuff that was said and the actions that were taken. But I stayed in the room because I needed to make the case for Michigan, and that’s my job.”
One of Whitmer’s objectives was to push for a federal emergency declaration for northern Michigan, which has endured brutal winter weather that has resulted in thousands of residents losing power.
She also wanted to push to keep Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County open.
“If I can get either of those things, it’s all worth it,” Whitmer said Monday. “Because I’m just there to fight for the people of Michigan.”
Trump has expressed interest in keeping Selfridge “open, strong” and “thriving.”
Whitmer is term-limited and ineligible to run for a third term as Michigan governor in 2026.
