Queen of the Data Centers

In the summer of 2020, Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, was very close to becoming vice president of the United States. Then-candidate Joe Biden had won the nomination and was vetting running mates. Whitmer — “Big Gretch,” as she was affectionately known in Democratic circles — had won plaudits for standing up to President Trump during the pandemic. She was, for a certain kind of liberal, the ideal veep for the elderly Biden: telegenic, swaggering, relatively young, and able to win over the Midwestern working class.