President Joe Biden is set to meet with Democratic governors on Wednesday as he tries to quell growing concerns about his ability to serve a second term following a devastating debate performance last week.
The White House said the event is scheduled to take place at 6:30 p.m. ET. Details of the meeting, which is expected to include a video call for those who cannot attend in person, are still being discussed, according to three sources familiar with the planning.
The Biden campaign declined to comment.
Democratic governors met by phone on Monday, according to two Democratic sources, to discuss the party’s path forward after the debate. That call, organized by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, president of the Democratic Governors Association, did not involve any staff member from the White House or Biden campaign. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who was instrumental in establishing the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, was also on the call.
Governors expressed their concerns after Biden’s poor debate performance.
“There is no strategy that anyone is suggesting and there is concern about what is to come. What will the president do to counteract the impression left by the debate?” said one of the sources.
The source said everyone on the call still supports Biden’s campaign.
“What everyone needs is guarantees. No one said we needed to go in another direction,” this person said.
On Monday’s conference call, the governors suggested to Walz that they would like to talk with Biden, which ultimately led to the meeting scheduled for Wednesday night at the White House.
“Democratic governors are some of the most proactive and vocal supporters of the president and vice president because they have seen how the Biden-Harris administration’s accomplishments are directly benefiting their residents,” said another person familiar with Monday’s call with the governors. in a statement. The Biden/Harris team is in constant communication with the governors and their teams, including about yesterday’s meeting.”
Separately, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients will hold an all-staff conference call at 12:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the planning. Zients is expected to tell team members to “weather the storm” and “keep their heads down.”
The call will include more junior staff, some of whom have indicated frustration that no one has told them anything. The goal is to amplify the message Zients delivered to senior staffers — a much smaller group of about 40 people — on Friday, when he and Biden senior adviser Anita Dunn acknowledged the debate and said there were “always going to be days challenging.”
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
