"I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence," Trump replied. "I don't think he knows what he said either."

Biden's debate performance impact

Biden's debate performance was panned by numerous pundits, including New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, who called on Biden to drop out of the race and said either Whitmer, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown or Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo "would be in a good position to defeat Trump in November."

Biden's debate performance probably worsened concerns about voter enthusiasm in Michigan among young people, African Americans and Arab Americans, said David Dulio, a political science professor at Oakland University.

"This morning, I think it's even worse than anyone could have imagined," Dulio said Friday of the fallout spurred by Biden's handling of the debate.

If there's an attempt to get Biden to move aside as the Democratic nominee and pick a replacement, Whitmer, who's 52, would have to be in the conversation, Dulio said.

Whitmer won her reelection race in Michigan in 2022 by about 10 percentage points, 54%-44%. She has made protecting abortion rights, which many see as one of the Democrat's strongest political issues, a focus of her career.

However, she has vowed to complete her four-year term as governor, and it's unclear how well-known and supported she is outside of Michigan. Whitmer has a book set to be published on July 9 titled "TRUE GRETCH: What I’ve Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between" that has already included a new blitz of national media attention for her.

Whitmer has steadfastly spurned questions about her national ambitions and whether she would seek the White House in 2028, telling a television reporter in Wisconsin last week, "I have no plans to run for president."

Michigan's senior Democratic leaders spent Friday trying to steer conversation about Biden's debate performance back to Trump.

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