LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – It was the type of disastrous public relations weekend for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in which a politician wishes they could cover up and hide.

But that’s what got Whitmer in the wrong kind of spotlight to begin with after a Wednesday meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House.

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Whitmer was under the impression she was going to have a private meeting with Trump, but first was whisked into the background behind Trump during a press conference while the president was signing an executive order, according to The New York Times. Apparently, Whitmer didn’t want any evidence of her standing behind Trump and used blue folders to cover her face. The New York Times then days later published a photograph of Whitmer.

The backlash was severe, even from far-left pundits, on Whitmer, which Newsweek said has aspirations to run for president.

“It’s rare when you get a shot of the EXACT moment a politician’s career ends, but there you go,” Keith Olbermann, a former liberal host on MSNBC, posted on X along with the now-viral image of Whitmer holding the blue folders in front of her face.

Conservative commentators also heaped on the criticism.

“Was this the nail in the coffin of Gretchen Whitmer’s political aspirations?” asked Eric Daugherty, assistant news director of the Florida Voice news site, on X. Daugherty’s post got 200 views as of Sunday evening.

Brent Scher, managing editor of the Daily Wire, also weighed in on X.

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“Gretchen Whitmer hiding behind her files in the White House is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen,” Scher posted. “This is what my 2 year old does.”

Abigail Jackson, the press secretary for GOP U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, criticized Whitmer.

“This is so much worse than if she just let her photo be taken,” Jackson posted on X.

Social media was full of memes mocking the New York Times’ photo.

ABC’s political talk show “This Week” did a segment on Whitmer covering her face at the White House.

Whitmer also posted on Saturday a short video on her Facebook page that demonstrated her proclivity for using profanities on social media.

“People are always asking me, ‘Jennifer. How do you fix a window?'” Whitmer says in the 34-second video. “How the hell should I know? And my name’s not Jennifer. I’m Gretchen. And I can tell you how we are fixing the damn roads.”

Whitmer will leave Lansing after the November 2026 election. She cannot run again for governor due to term limits.