Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer focused on how essential workers amid the coronavirus pandemic can inspire unity across the country in her speech during the first night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
“Over the past few months, we learned what’s essential: rising to the challenge, not denying it. We’ve learned who is essential, too. Not just the wealthiest among us. Not a president who fights his fellow Americans rather than fight the virus that’s killing us and our economy. It’s the people who put their own health at risk to care for the rest of us,” said Whitmer, who is also a national co-chair of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign.
“They are the MVPs,” she added.
Whitmer mentioned that a Detroit 5-year-old named Skylar was among the nearly 170,000 people who have died from the coronavirus, noting that her mother is a police officer and father is a firefighter. After her speech, ran a short tribute to those who’ve died.
Speaking from the United Auto Workers Local 652 in Lansing, Michigan, on Monday, Whitmer made an appeal based on her state’s long history of car manufacturing.
“President Obama and Vice President Biden saved these autoworkers’ livelihoods. Then, these workers did their part to save American lives. That’s the story of this great nation. Action begets action. Progress begets progress. And when we work together — we can accomplish anything,” she said.
The first-term Michigan governor is considered a rising star in the Democratic Party. Earlier this year, she gave the Democratic repose to President Trump’s State of the Union address.
Her national prominence has risen further during the coronavirus pandemic, as she instituted strict stay-at-home orders and other executive actions regulating the movement of people across the state.
Michigan is one of the most closely watched swing states in the 2020 Electoral College battle between Biden and Trump.
Whitmer was reportedly one of the top four women Biden was considering to be his running mate before picking California Sen. Kamala Harris last week.
“He called me in early April and asked me to go through a vetting, and I was really stunned, to be honest. I thought I was going to be one of the people helping him vet and find a running mate,” Whitmer told the New York Times.
