Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., said the United States is in a "constitutional crisis" after appearing alongside President Donald Trump in Michigan on his 100th day as president. 

Jon Favreau, former President Barack Obama's speechwriter turned "Pod Save America" host, asked Whitmer in a social media clip posted Wednesday if the U.S. is in a "constitutional crisis" – just one day after she greeted Trump on the tarmac in Michigan before his speech to National Guard members. 

"We are," Whitmer said. "I think that no one is above the law. The thought that we've got an administration that is just blatantly violating court orders should, I think, scare everybody. This is a very serious moment."

Democrats have consistently described the country's current political moment as a "constitutional crisis" since Trump returned to the White House about 100 days ago. While Whitmer has warned of the "peril" Trump's tariffs will have on Michigan's auto industry and urged him to deliver disaster relief to her constituents impacted by ice storms, the Democratic governor and potential 2028 presidential candidate has struck a more diplomatic tone than her colleagues in the past 100 days. 

WHITMER EXPLAINS HER OVAL OFFICE FOLDER FIASCO

"Trump is currently investigating Michigan colleges and universities for their diversity policies. He's already tried to kick dozens of Michigan foreign students out of the country. He's threatening to unlawfully freeze federal funding for Michigan public schools, as he's already doing that in Maine, because Governor Mills spoke up in a meeting. Have you asked the president to stop targeting people and institutions in your state?" Favreau challenged Whitmer in a subsequent social media clip posted Wednesday. 

GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER DIVIDES DEMOCRATS AFTER APPEARANCES WITH TRUMP IN MICHIGAN AND AT WHITE HOUSE

"I have not had that direct conversation on this subject yet, but I'm not afraid to do that," Whitmer said. 

"Isn't it worth speaking up for the rights and the freedoms of those people when you're at an event with him, or you are in a meeting with him?" Favreau asked, articulating the criticism Whitmer has faced within the Democratic Party for her treatment of Trump. 

"Whenever I get the opportunity, I use every minute of that to cover a lot of different issues. So this is, I think, a very important one that you're raising. There's no question. And I will continue whenever I have opportunities to make sure that I'm covering as much as I can. No question," Whitmer said. 

BLUE STATE GOVERNOR MAKES ANOTHER APPEARANCE WITH TRUMP BEFORE HIS 100-DAY SPEECH: 'HAPPY WE'RE HERE'

Returning to the question of a "constitutional crisis," Whitmer said, "Many of us are fighting the fights we can," but it's the court of law that should "have the last word."

"I hope that we finally see some backbone out of some of the Republicans in Congress to stand up to the courts to enforce their orders. There are a lot of people that aren't doing their jobs to protect the foundations of this country," Whitmer added, shifting blame onto congressional Republicans for not standing up to Trump. 

The clips were posted one day after Whitmer appeared alongside Trump ahead of his 100th day rally in Michigan. Whitmer successfully lobbied Trump to retire an A-10 Warthog aircraft based out of Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan with 21 brand-new F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets.

Trump thanked Whitmer for bringing the issue to his attention and once again applauded her job as governor. Whitmer's diplomatic moves seemed to put her out of step with her party on Tuesday as Democratic governors, many similarly rumored to harbor 2028 presidential ambitions, instead hosted a counter-programming event to Trump's speech slamming his first 100 days in office. 

WHITMER DITCHES DEM PLAYBOOK ON TRUMP'S TARIFFS AMID 2028 SPECULATION

Earlier this month, Whitmer hid behind a folder in the Oval Office in an image that went viral and earned her the ire of Democrats discontent with her diplomacy. The Michigan governor found herself in the corner of the Oval Office for a press conference where Trump praised her, after consistently ridiculing her on the 2024 campaign trail. 

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The Michigan governor's trip to Washington last month brought her 2028 presidential ambitions into the national conversation as she directly engaged with Trump. 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. 

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

"Trump Pressures Ukraine to Accept a Peace Plan That Sharply Favors Russia."

So The New York Times warned a week ago, when the White House said Ukraine and Russia needed to make peace quickly. Slate, which has reached MSNBC levels of crazy-liberal, went even further: Trump’s Ukraine Peace Plan Gives Russia Everything It Wants…

Sharply favoring Russia! Giving Russia everything it wants! We are back in 2016, with Donald Trump as a Kremlin agent, a modern Manchurian candidate.

Just one problem. These headlines aren’t even close to the reality of what the Trump administration is proposing. (I know, you’re shocked.)

In fact, the more I read and think about the ceasefire proposal, the more impressed I am with the tack President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have taken.

They are walking a very narrow tightrope. If they can manage it they’ll deserve enormous praise. Nobel Peace Prize-type praise, though the Kremlin will freeze over before King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden puts that medal around Trump’s neck.

UKRAINE SIGNS DEAL TO GIVE US ACCESS TO RARE MINERALS WITH TRUMP ADMIN ‘COMMITTED TO A PEACE PROCESS’

Let’s start with some unpleasant facts: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is an old-school land grab by a murderous dictator. In a perfect world, the Ukrainian people would rise up, evict the Russian army with boomerangs, and ride into the sunset.

But in this world, China puts a million Uighurs in open-air detention camps and nobody does squat. Viruses gonna virus, and great powers gonna great power. Even middling powers, if they have nuclear arms and the right (aka wrong) attitude.

In this world, after an initial burst in 2022, Ukraine has lost territory slowly but steadily for the last two years, despite massive American aid. Russia has four times Ukraine’s population, and a leader who faces no domestic constraints keeping him from losing as many men as he deems necessary.
The Europeans talk a good game about helping, but they have neither the military nor the political will to do more than talk (again, shocker!) For 80 years, Europe has had a terrible case of "let’s you and him fight." This war is only the latest proof. Have you noticed the Bundeswehr on the Ukrainian front lines? Me neither.

So Ukraine needs the United States.

And the United States has elected a president who does not believe this war is a good idea.

President Trump wants peace. The left says he wants peace because he hates Zelenskyy and wants to build Trump Tower Kremlin. The right says he wants peace because he is tired of sending American tax dollars so Ukrainian and Russian boys can kill each other.

Me, I’m not going to guess. I don’t presume to know what’s in our president’s head, much less his heart.

Here’s what I do know. A peace that simply gives the Russians a few months to rearm is not a peace at all.

Here’s what else I know. The Trump administration knows that, too.
The administration has not fully released its ceasefire proposal publicly (a smart move, and a sign that it is serious rather than playing political games). But the details of it have leaked, as the administration no doubt expected.

And its most important element is the one the media has barely mentioned: The proposal contains NO restrictions on the size of the Ukrainian military, as the Russian government wanted. That was a non-starter for Ukraine, a true red line.

Nor does the proposal require Zelenskyy to quit, or even — as far as we know — hold free elections.

Nor does it require Ukraine or any other country to recognize that the Crimean peninsula is part of Russia (though, apparently, it does extend American recognition).

So why is the left shrieking?

First, because the deal keeps the front lines in place, pretty much. Meaning that Russia is going to continue to occupy the territory it now occupies.

So Trump is… wait for it… rewarding aggression! He’s allowing Putin to redraw Europe’s borders! (Well, one border of one country that even most Europeans probably couldn’t find on a map.)

Yep. He sure is.

What exactly do the critics propose? Newsflash: Putin is not going to voluntarily give up the territory that hundreds of thousands of men have died taking. And Ukraine can’t make him. That’s why we need a ceasefire. 
There is nothing unusual about an armistice that keeps the front lines in place. Like, say, at the end of the Korean War. Maybe after Putin dies, a new Russian regime will decide eastern Ukraine wasn’t so important after all and pull back. In the interim, the fighting and killing have stopped.
Second, because the United States apparently promises to recognize Crimea as Russian territory. The humanity!

Except that Crimea WAS Russian territory from 1783, when Catherine the Great annexed it, until 1954, when Soviet leader Nikola Khrushchev transferred it back from Russia to Ukraine. Sure, 1954 sounds like a while ago - except that in 1954, both Russia and Ukraine were parts of the Soviet Union.

In other words, Khrushchev’s transfer made no practical difference. The Kremlin, as the seat of Soviet control, still controlled the territory, and did so until the USSR collapsed in 1991. Thus, between 1783 and 2014, the Crimea was under Moscow’s rule for 208 years, and Kiev’s for 23.

Does this mean Crimea belongs to Russia? I have no idea.

What I do know is that when Russia took Crimea (back) in 2014, neither the United States nor anyone else rushed to Ukraine’s aid. The Crimean Peninsula is strategically vital to the Kremlin, because its port of Sevastopol is Russia’s only warm-water port. It is much more important to Russia than the territory Russia has seized since 2022, and even after Putin is long gone, Russia isn’t going to give it up without a fight.

And, again, the Trump administration isn’t saying Ukraine has to accept this takeover as part of a peace deal, only that the United States will.
Third, the critics are whining that the proposal includes a ban on Ukraine joining NATO. This objection is genuinely stupid. Even before the war, Ukraine was — at best — decades from joining NATO.

So, to review: The deal the Trump administration has proposed doesn’t require Zelenskyy to quit, allows Ukraine to retain its ability to fight, does not require it to cede any territory it hasn’t already lost, and — as far as we know — does not limit the ability of Europe or the United States to continue to aid Ukraine militarily.

In return, Russia keeps Crimea and the other territory it has already grabbed. And it has the potential to have sanctions — sanctions that have proved completely ineffective in changing its behavior — removed.

I guess I’m missing the part where this proposal "sharply favors Russia."
No wonder the Kremlin, despite its public praise for Trump, hasn’t jumped on it.

About that public praise: Putin needs a win if he’s going to make peace. On the other hand, after three years of promising to evict the Russian army, Zelenskyy needs someone to blame for the fact that he couldn’t.
The Trump administration is providing a useful foil for both. Zelenskyy gets to rant about the American betrayal while Putin puffs his chest and lets his media lavish praise on him for outfoxing the Americans. The deal doesn’t change.

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The key word in all of this is lasting.

If the Russians take this deal only to break the ceasefire and make a new push on Kiev in a few months, it will be hard not to regard any peace as a massive miscalculation.

But is Putin really likely to be spoiling for another war? This one didn’t go as planned. It cost him hundreds of thousands of men for marginal territorial gains.

And he must know that if he starts hostilities again, the United States and Europe will see little choice but to come to Kiev’s aid. This way, he can declare victory and get back to his billion-dollar Black Sea palace.

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I think the odds are good that if Trump can push this deal through, it will hold until Putin winds up in the great Kremlin in the sky (or, more likely, down below).

In that case, Trump’s critics will no doubt acknowledge his incredible achievement in ending Europe’s most brutal war in generations quickly and relatively cleanly.

Sure they will.

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