Governor Gretchen Whitmer's Instagram is a Dead Giveaway. She Has Her Eyes Set on the White House.
With the Presidential elections looming in the not-too-distant future, buzz is beginning to form about who might throw their name in the hat, run alongside a popular name, or rise to national popularity. Based on her social media activity, Governor Gretchen Whitmer may be one of them.
Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, was first elected to the position in 2018 and assumed the role in 2019. Since then, she won reelection to a second term, was considered to be President Biden’s running mate, and amassed dozens of national press mentions with her COVID-19 response, abortion stance, and easily-identifiable Midwest accent. However, Whitmer’s Instagram appears to be a dead giveaway that she has a lot more up her sleeve than retirement in 2025. Does she have her eyes set on a cabinet position, or possibly something more, at the White House?
Why Whitmer Started Her Instagram
Some of the best political campaigns begin before they are even officially launched. Why? Because winning an election takes a lot more than just running. A few things need to happen for a candidate to have a shot at victory:
Voters need to know the candidate. Whether in primaries or general elections, voters need to be able to recognize the candidate’s name on the ballot.
Voters need to like the candidate. When a voter recognizes the candidate’s name, they need to feel a positive sentiment toward them.
Voters need to trust the candidate. When a voter both knows and likes a candidate, they need to be able to trust the candidate to assume a leadership position.
Establishing a strong social media presence is a great first step for a politician to start building a relationship with potential voters. It allows them to share their values, showcase their past successes, and connect with voters on a personal and professional level.
Whitmer started her Instagram on January 2, 2017. She began by sharing nine photos, enough to fill the entire Instagram grid. The photos were an assortment of career highlights and family photos. The next day, January 3, 2017, Whitmer wrote an Instagram post that officially announced she was entering the race to become governor of Michigan. This marked the start of her online positioning to be known, liked, and trusted by Michigan voters.
Today, Whitmer is still implementing tactics to be known, liked, and trusted by the public. Let’s break it down:
Making Herself Known
Since winning the Michigan governor’s race, Whitmer, like many governors, continued to post her career and administration’s successes on social media. Now, five years after the launch of her professional Instagram, Whitmer is nearing the end of her final term as governor. However, her social media presence has only continued to ramp up.
Number of Posts on Whitmer’s Instagram:
Q1 2021: 10
Q1 2022: 59
Q1 2023: 64
In Q1 of 2021, Whitmer made a total of 10 posts. In Q1 of 2022, that number had jumped to 59, and jumped again to 64 posts in Q1 of 2023. It’s likely that Whitmer’s posting significantly increased from 2021 to 2022 because she knew she would be up for re-election in the fall of 2022. However, Whitmer is in her final years of serving as governor, but her posting frequency has continued to increase.
On social media, users can expand their reach to new audiences and remain top-of-mind for current followers by increasing how frequently they post. Because she is posting more, Whitmer appears to be doing exactly that, intentionally keeping herself known to her current audience and introducing herself to new ones.
Crafting a Likeable Persona
In addition to an increase in posts, we’re also seeing a change in the kinds of posts Governor Whitmer is posting. In 2020 and 2021, the majority of her posts were about her administration’s work, meetings she participated in, and public events she attended. While the majority of her posts are still about her administration’s work, she’s been incorporating more personal content into the mix.
In this case, a “personal post” is a post that doesn’t add definitive value, or speak to the values or work of a person. That said, there is still value in posting more personal content. Sharing more personal stories allows your audience to better connect with you as an individual and humanizes you beyond your work.
Number of Personal Posts on Whitmer’s Instagram:
Q1 2021: 0
Q1 2022: 1
Q1 2023: 4
In addition to making more personal posts, Whitmer has also been incorporating more pop culture references into her posts. Pop culture references are a great way for people to get more engagement on content, connect with their audience, and humanize their online presence, something Whitmer clearly understands. On April 5, 2023, Whitmer shared a post wearing a pink suit and captioned it, “On Wednesday, we wear pink,” referencing the popular film Mean Girls. On April 2, 2023, she hopped on the social media trend of inserting a video sticker of Michael Scott, a character from the TV series The Office, holding a speaker above his head and putting her personal spin on it. On March 16, 2023, she made a post that included a quote by Lizzo, a famous rapper.
The fact that Whitmer is posting more personal content and pop culture references signals that she is working toward earning more public favorability. However, she is not up for reelection, where approval rating and public perception matter. If Whitmer is working to increase her favorability, this could signal that she is building her support base to prepare for a larger career move.
Establishing Trust
Another shift in Whitmer’s social media activity has been her use of press content. When a public figure shares press footage, the purpose is generally to help establish trust. Getting press coverage from a specific news outlet is a way to have the reputation of that outlet rub off on you. If a news outlet deems you to be a creditable or newsworthy person, public perception begins to shift in that direction.
Number of Press Interview Posts on Whitmer’s Instagram:
Q1 2021: 0
Q1 2022: 1
Q1 2023: 4
Over the last three years, Whitmer has been sharing more clips of her press interviews, making them available to a broader audience. According to the Pew Center of Research, 86% of Americans get their news from a digital device (smartphone, tablet, or computer), and 53% are more likely to get news from social media. This means that the majority of Whitmer’s audience might not have seen her press interviews on TV. By sharing her press content via social media, Whitmer is making it available for any current or new followers to watch at any time — versus the one time it aired on TV.
Sharing more press interviews on her social media channels is a way for Whitmer to ensure that her audience sees them. This allows her to further establish and build a sense of trust among her audience. Could this mean that she is planning to step into a role that would require a high level of public trust?
Whitmer’s Instagram was Built to Leverage Career-Changing Opportunities
It’s no accident that Gretchen Whitmer won two gubernatorial elections, was considered to be President Biden’s running mate, and received dozens of major national press mentions. Whitmer has been strategically building her personal brand on Instagram since 2017 in order to become known, liked, and trusted by the public. Now, in 2023, Whitmer has been actively striving to be known, liked, and trusted by an even wider audience. Does Whitmer have her eyes set on the White House? Only time will tell, but based on her Instagram, she very well might.
