Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (Democrat) wants everyone to know it’s okay to call her “Big Gretchen.”
“In Lansing, they call me the Governor, but in Detroit, I’m ‘Big Grecchi,'” the popular Democrat said Thursday, drawing cheers from the crowd at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
It’s true: People call her “Big Gretsch,” a nickname that’s seen as a compliment and was coined during the coronavirus pandemic.
Detroit comedic rapper Gmac Cash bestowed the nickname in a song in 2020, praising Governor Whitmer’s stay-at-home orders, her feud with then-President Trump and her response to the protests that followed.
“We ain’t even gotta stress, we got Big Gretsch / You can find her in the press by the name Big Gretsch / Fresh in a new dress, yeah, that’s Big Gretsch,” he raps. “All these protests were irrelevant / Big Gretsch ain’t gonna listen to you or the president / We ain’t gonna follow orders from a non-resident.”
Shortly after the song was released on YouTube, Whitmer wrote to her: Seal of Approval On social media.
“This is awesome. Love the nickname and the song. See you at the BBQ, @GmacCash,” she wrote on social platform X, then known as Twitter. “Until then, big Gretsch stay home and stay safe!”
Whitmer later elaborated on her thoughts on the song and the nickname. Interview with WNEM, Michigan.
“Big Gretsch is kind of a persona that was born out of the pandemic. It’s an acknowledgement of myself for going through some hard times and people just wanted to give me a little encouragement, so the nickname was born. So it wasn’t a nickname that I came up with or that I would have picked, but I’m really grateful for it. And I think it’s here. It’s funny,” she told the outlet.
Whitmer, a Democratic governor of a key battleground state, is co-chair of Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign and has frequently been mentioned as one of the Democrats who could emerge on the national stage.
However, she is also known for having a lighter side, leaning into her “Big Gretsch” persona.
Friday is her birthday, so she took to social media “53 Wishes” Next year, she’s rooting for her home state to provide preschool for all and for the Detroit Lions to win the Super Bowl.
Her trademark deep magenta lipstick is just that, her trademark color. “Big Gretsch” came from The Lip BarA Detroit-based, Black woman-owned business.
Earlier this year, Governor Whitmer released a book of life lessons titled, “True Gretsch: What I’ve Learned About Life, Leadership and Everything in Between.” Detroit Free Press columnist Nancy Kafer summed up the Governor this way: When reviewing the book:
“She is hugely popular in Michigan, with a 57.6 percent approval rating, far ahead of Biden and former President Donald Trump. A progressive thinker, she governs as a centrist and focuses on the ‘dinner table’ issues she believes Michiganders care about most. She can appeal to voters in Rust Belt battleground states. She is a Gen X woman at a time when voters are tired of male politicians in their 70s and 80s. She has won every election she has run for, becoming governor twice by wide margins. And she’s good at her job.”
