WASHINGTON — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's bid to get Republican President Donald Trump to exempt imported vehicles from tariffs fell short Wednesday, but he had some unusual praise for the second-term Democratic governor from behind the resolute desk.

Whitmer proposed exempting the auto and energy industries from tariffs as part of a morning speech on manufacturing policy near the White House, hours before Trump announced a 90-day pause on most of the tariffs he unveiled last week. But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the pause does not apply to "sectoral" tariffs, like the ones levied on the auto industry, steel and aluminum.

Michigan's signature auto industry — many economists and industry experts have said — is likely to suffer severe consequences from the administration's 25% tariffs on vehicles and auto parts. One industry group has estimated that one in five jobs in Michigan is tied to autos and predicted the import taxes would cause "profound" pain for the state's working-class residents.

"Let's carve out autos and energy, both of which are critical to manufacturers and directly impact people's wallets," Whitmer said in the speech.

Though he did not grant the auto tariff pause, Trump did praise Whitmer after the two met in the Oval Office. Sitting at the resolute desk, the president told reporters he was "honored to have Gretchen Whitmer from Michigan, the great state of Michigan, and she's been, she's really done an excellent job, very good person."

Trump's praise for Whitmer stood in stark contrast from five years ago, during the height of the COVID-19 crisis, when he publicly called her inept and famously told his then-vice president, Mike Pence, "don't call the woman in Michigan," a comment Whitmer has used to build a national political brand.

Whitmer stood in the Oval Office alongside Michigan GOP House Speaker Matt Hall while Trump signed executive orders and took questions from reporters.

Their meeting came as Whitmer navigates two crises at home: an ice storm that left thousands of residents in northern Michigan without power for more than a week, and Trump's chaotic and uncertain trade policies that threaten the well-being of the state's auto industry.

A face-to-face conversation was seen as an opportunity for Whitmer to find common ground with the second-term Republican president on their shared priorities around American manufacturing, innovation and industrialization. She previously bashed Trump's tariff threats in February, but has been more muted in recent weeks, even as Trump announced 25% import taxes on foreign vehicles and widespread "reciprocal tariffs" on most other goods from around the world.

"I want to talk about that. I'm going to talk about the impact of tariffs. I don't know that I'll get any — I'll get to make any ground, but I'm not going to cede the opportunity to talk about something that is important to my state," Whitmer told journalist Gretchen Carlson at an event her office organized Wednesday morning ahead of her meeting with Trump.

Whitmer described the importance of bipartisanship and taking meetings with Trump and his team to protect the interests of her state. "If you're not at the table, you're on the menu," she said.

Asked by Carlson how she would handle tariffs differently than Trump, Whitmer said, "I haven't really thought about that."

She continued: "What I have thought about, though, is tariffs are, need to be used like a scalpel, not a hammer. There's a purpose to have tariffs, but the uncertainty that has now been created, the anxiety and fear, just breeds destruction."

Whitmer also warned that Michigan is especially vulnerable to tariffs, given the state's reliance on international trade and highly integrated supply chains for automakers across North America to drive manufacturing. "When America gets a cold, Michigan gets the flu," she said.

The auto industry, Whitmer noted, accounts for 20% of economic activity in the state. That figure is supported by MichAuto, the automotive arm of the Detroit Regional Chamber.

It was not immediately clear how Trump's 90-day tariff pause would impact his 25% tariffs on finished vehicles and auto parts. If they remain in effect, the import taxes would hit all automakers — including Michigan's trio of Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV — when they bring goods stateside.

GM imports the most vehicles of those three, including the popular Chevrolet Trailblazer and Trax crossovers. It manufactures both of those models in South Korea.

Whitmer's meeting with Trump would be her second in less than a month, after she visited the White House on March 13 to discuss tariffs. Whitmer also sat next to Trump at a National Governors Association dinner in February, days after he reappointed her to serve on the national Council of Governors.

Prior to being interviewed by Carlson at an event venue near the White House, Whitmer gave a speech titled "Build, America, Build." She delivered the remarks to a crowd of about 100 people, including politicians, journalists and union groups.

Former two-term Democratic Gov. Jim Blanchard, who also represented Michigan in Congress and served as the U.S. ambassador to Canada, attended the speech. Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, of Ann Arbor, was also present.

The governor's team did not immediately respond to a question on how the event was funded.

In her remarks, Whitmer embraced "strategic" tariffs as a means of building back up the nation's industrial base, particularly in the ship and plane-building business. One of the executive orders Trump signed Wednesday was aimed at promoting U.S. shipbuilding, a topic Whitmer harped on during the speech.

The governor called for more such business activity in Michigan, which she said has lost good-paying manufacturing jobs for decades because of past trade policies.

"We know losing a factory doesn’t just mean losing jobs," Whitmer said in her speech. "Losing people means losing resources. It means fewer police officers and underfunded schools. It means less housing built and fewer roads fixed. It’s a loss of purpose and identity."

The share of U.S. workers employed in manufacturing jobs has declined for decades as businesses have moved production to countries with lower labor costs. That trend predates oft-maligned international trade accords like the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. There have been similar trends within the United States, too.

Michigan has lost 27,600 manufacturing jobs since Whitmer became governor in January 2019, according to federal data. Across the board, Midwestern states like Ohio and Indiana have shed manufacturing jobs since that month while Southern states like Texas, Florida and Georgia have gained tens of thousands.

“It’s ironic that Gov. Whitmer is in D.C. this morning preaching about jobs while Michigan is drowning in one of the nation’s worst unemployment messes under her failed leadership," said Michigan Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, a Republican candidate for governor, in a statement. "Since 2019, we’ve lost manufacturing jobs faster than almost anyone, alongside California and New York."

Despite those job losses, Whitmer touted that Michigan has secured "dozens" of new facilities over the past decade to build ships, batteries and cars. She highlighted a recent$325 million federal grant from the Biden administration to support Hemlock Semiconductor's manufacturing of a semiconductor-grade polysilicon and a $40 million repair of Wilder Road in Bay City to support local manufacturer Vantage Plastics. Vice President JD Vance visited Vantage Plastics last month, telling supporters that Trump's economic policy goals are "not going to happen overnight."

Another semiconductor project with potential investments worth tens of billions of dollars is in development for Mundy Township in Genesee County.

Whitmer celebrated the Biden administration's major efforts to support domestic semiconductor manufacturing and warned that "we cannot risk stepping back or faltering."

In another part of her speech, Whitmer discussed the "common ground" shared by Americans and Michiganians regardless of their political preferences, though she also criticized some of Trump's actions since taking office. Some of those actions include the cutting of "critical government services" and a blanket approach to trade policy that does the "opposite" of lowering the cost of living for Americans, Whitmer said.

"I know there's been a lot of talk recently about government efficiency, but the proposed solutions have been solely focused on firing people in the crew or stripping away critical parts," Whitmer said, using an auto racing analogy that invoked Michigan racing magnate Roger Penske. "That's no way to win a race. If we really want to win, and to keep winning, we need to reinvest in our crew and build better parts."

Carlson, noting the governor's decision to give the speech in Washington rather than Michigan, asked if she was running for president.

Whitmer, whose term as governor expires in 2026, said no.

"This is similar to speeches that I've given in Michigan," Whitmer said. "This is, I think, a blueprint for success."

Earlier in the interview with Carlson, Whitmer said the country has a "great bench of Democratic governors."

One prominent Democratic governor reacted on social media to C-SPAN video of Whitmer's remarks that the U.S. "can't just pull out the tariff hammer to swing at every problem without a clear defined end goal."

"The 'tariff hammer' winds up hitting your own hand rather than the nail," Colorado Gov. Jared Polis wrote on X. "Tariffs are bad outright because they lead to higher prices and destroy American manufacturing. Trade is inherently good because both parties emerge better off from a consensual transaction."

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(Detroit News staff writer Craig Mauger contributed.)

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