Gretchen Whitmer warns Joe Biden he can’t win Michigan after debate flop – but insists she won’t replace him

Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer has warned that US president Joe Biden’s chances of winning the state are now over following his dismal debate performance last week.

Mr Biden had hoped to silence critics who have questioned his age and mental sharpness when he took on Donald Trump during the first televised debate of the 2024 election last Thursday.

But instead of putting concerns to rest, the 81-year-old reinforced the concerns with a stumbling performance that is said to have left members of his party divided on whether he is the right candidate to run for the White House.

Despite burgeoning support for Ms Whitmer to potentially take over as the Democrats’ presidential candidate, the former senator was quick to quash the notion she would run for office and deny that she was behind the growing push.

Sources with knowledge of the matter, who remain anonymous, told Politico that, in a call between Ms Whitmer and Biden campaign chair Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, the Democrat expressed her growing frustrations and said she “hated” being named as a potential replacement.

In the call, Ms Whitmer doubled down on her support for Mr Biden’s re-election campaign.

But despite her loyalty, another source said Ms Whitmer gave Mr Biden a damning warning: that her state is “no longer winnable” for the president due to his debate performance.

As a swing state, Michigan has played a crucial role in determining the outcome of the past two presidential elections and could prove vital for Mr Biden as he seeks a second term.

The state flipped blue in 2020 and Ms Whitmer then sailed to a second term in 2022, scoring a 10-point victory over her Republican rival.

Mr Biden’s loss of the state to presumptive Republican nominee Trump this November would be a devastating blow for Democrats. While Ms Whitmer seemingly rejected the idea that she would take on the sitting president, her former aide Mark Burton told The Telegraph that he thinks she believes she could beat Trump, if the pair were to thrash it out for the Oval Office.

While Ms Whitmer garners support, vice-president Kamala Harris remains the most popular choice to replace Mr Biden if he drops out of the race, according to a recent Date for Progress poll.

Taking an average of recent polls, Trump would lead Ms Harris by six points in a race for office.

If Mr Biden does not step down, there are two ways he could be replaced before November’s election. Democrats could invoke the 25th amendment and try to replace Mr Biden with Ms Harris.

Or delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago could revolt and vote for somebody other than Mr Biden on the floor in August.

Ms Whitmer’s continued support for Mr Biden has been mirrored by other prominent Democrats including former House speaker Nancy Pelosi and former House majority whip James Clyburn. But other party members have been more scathing in their criticism towards Mr Biden.

Minnesota’s Democrat congressman Dean Phillips made a scathing nine-word post on X seemingly aimed at Mr Biden last week. “Speak only if it ­improves upon the silence – Gandhi,” it said.

Meanwhile, Mr Biden’s son Hunter Biden is suing the Fox News network, just a little over a year after the right-wing news channel was forced to reach a historic settlement and admitted its presenters had spread false claims about a voting machine company to please its pro-Trump audience.

A lawsuit filed yesterday by attorneys for the president’s son accused the network of “target[ing] Mr Biden in an effort to harass, annoy, alarm, and humiliate him, and tarnish his reputation”.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Fox said: “This entirely politically motivated lawsuit is devoid of merit.”

(© The Independent)

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