Last December, in the warmth and comfort of the executive residence and with no hint that an insidious virus would engulf her second year in office, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had time to reflect on her approach to commenting on the performance of President Donald Trump.

As you listen to her words, they are decidedly out of the Gov. Rick Snyder playbook. Whenever he was pressed by the press to comment on Mr. Trump, Snyder changed the subject. He called any of that dialogue a distraction, and contrary to his role of providing services for the folks who hired him, namely, the residents of Michigan.

Gov. Whitmer had her own take:

“I don’t weight in on Donald Trump very often. I just don’t. I can’t control what’s going on in Washington. I don’t have a vote … and I’ve got a duty as the governor of Michigan to make sure that I’m building relationships with any administration that’s in the White House.”

That was then.

And now is now.

The state GOP Party chair and her followers have been banging the drum, accusing Whitmer of a seemingly never-ending criticism of the president. Chairwoman Laura Cox has called on Mrs. Whitmer to stop. And it appears Mrs. Cox may get her wish.

All of that started coming to a head following the governor’s appearance on the WOOD-TV tele-town hall last week. A viewer wondered why the governor, during her remarks to the public on how she is handling the COVID-19 crisis, “you have to get a “dig” or criticism of the White House.

“It just dampens all that you said,” the viewer said.

The governor agreed with the spirit of the viewer comment, but added, “I don’t agree with the characterization that I take gratuitous digs. I don’t.”

She added that she was sorry that “that is how you felt about it,” but that was it.

She gave no hint that she would back off her criticism as she says she is motivated by trying to save lives in our state.

No sooner had they killed the lights in the TV studio than the president showed up on Fox, returning the favor. “We’ve had a big problem with a young women governor, you know who I’m talking about, from Michigan. We don’t like to see complaints.”

And, in keeping with the tweet-back-and-forth game, the governor returned the volley, concluding, “You said you stand for Michigan. Prove it.”

All of that back-and-forth was against the backdrop of the governor seeking more federal assistance. The chatter in this town was, the more she poured it on the president, her requests would move further down his to-do list.

So, with all that out there, the governor was interviewed on WJR Friday morning and was advised, “If you don’t comment on the federal government’s faults and weaknesses, you’re not going to have him (the president) responding to it.” Then, part of an Executive Office news release was read that included this: “We have been disappointed that while the Trump administration has declared a disaster for a handful of states, the declarations were not accompanied by substantial federal resources.”

And then it was mentioned that she apparently had a good working relationship with the vice president, and “why don’t we leave it at that?”

And the governor agreed.

“That’s precisely what we should do and that’s what we are doing.”

She admitted that the statement in the news release was “factual but, you’re right, it is probably not productive and so I’m going to implore everyone to focus on what we need and meeting that need now.”

It’s unclear if the White House took note of this apparent change of tune from the “young woman governor,” as Mr. Trump put it, but, last Saturday, out of the blue, the governor was informed that the Trump administration was approving her request for an emergency declaration.

That frees up a boat-load of federal dollars for a variety of services, from constructing field hospitals to treating the mental health stress of Michigan residents.

Peace between the two is at hand?

The thousands of virus victims and everyone else who is worried have their fingers crossed that it is.