WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden on Wednesday increased his contact with lawmakers, Democratic governors and staff after days of criticism that he did not do enough to personally quell nervousness that he should abandon his re-election bid.
The outreach included calls to Democratic leaders in Congress and a Wednesday night meeting with Democratic governors — including 10 who traveled to Washington to appear in person. Nearly a week after the debate, he and senior aides are still struggling to recover from last week’s devastating performance and quell growing calls for him to step down as the party’s nominee in the November election.
After a meeting between Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and governors, state officials emerged and repeated themselves largely in praising Biden, several of them referring to being “all in” and being “partners” who have each other’s backs.
“We’re all looking for the path to win. Every governor agrees on that. President Biden agrees on that,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, president of the Democratic Governors Association, told reporters outside the White House. “He protected us during Covid, throughout the recovery, through all the things that happened. The governors are protecting us and we are working together.”
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the group that met with Biden “came in and we were honest about the feedback we were getting.
“Listen, we are governors. We don’t worry,” Moore said after the meeting. “And in November, we will have a binary choice, and the binary choice is between someone who is continually handed to us in our states, the people of our states, and frankly, someone whose vision for the future of this country is absolutely dangerous.”
Governor of Michigan Gretchen Whitmerwhose name was floated as a possible replacement for Biden at the top of the ticket, attended the meeting but did not speak to reporters afterwards. Whitmer said on X minutes after the meeting ended, Biden “is our nominee. He’s in it to win and I support him.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom told NBC News that “I heard three words from the president — he’s fully involved. And so am I. Joe Biden protected us. Now it’s time to protect him.”
Notably absent from the meeting was Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers. Neither Biden’s campaign nor Evers’ office immediately responded to requests for comment on why he did not attend.
An Evers spokesperson, Britt Cudaback, said on X that Evers did not attend the meeting “because he is focused on moving forward and winning Wisconsin. He supports President Biden – his comments in support of the president over the last week speak for themselves, and he looks forward to campaigning with the president on Friday .”
After the meeting, a campaign official said Biden “sought the advice and experience of Democratic governors.”
“In addition to defeating donald trumpThe meeting also focused on the importance of electing Democrats at the ballot box to deliver more Democratic governors and more Democratic majorities in Congress and statehouses across the country,” the campaign manager added, saying each governor at the meeting also “reiterated the their shared commitment to do everything possible to ensure that President Biden and Vice President Harris defeat Donald Trump in November.”
The meeting followed a day of reassuring campaign staffers and Democratic lawmakers.
In an all-hands meeting with his campaign team, Biden made it clear that he had no plans to drop out of the race, telling attendees, “Let me say this as clearly and directly as possible, as simply and directly as possible: I’m running,” according to a campaign official on the call.
“Nobody’s kicking me out,” Biden added, saying, “I’m not leaving. I’m in this race until the end and we’re going to win.”
Moments later, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated Biden’s comments at a briefing, telling reporters that he is “absolutely not” considering resigning.
In the campaign rally, Biden also called for his party to be unified heading into the fall, telling staffers that “when Democrats unite, we will always win. Just as we defeated Donald Trump in 2020, we will beat him again in 2024.”
Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon and campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodriguez organized the call, which Biden and Harris joined, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Harris told staffers she was betting everything on Biden, saying, “We are not going to back down. We will follow our president’s example. We will fight and we will win.”
The all-hands meeting was billed as a “quick call for all employees to check in as a team” by O’Malley Dillon and Chavez Rodriguez.
In an email to campaign staffers obtained by NBC News, the two campaign leaders said that “going forward, we will use team-wide emails and calls more frequently to ensure everyone has the latest updates and priorities broader campaign campaign for the day.”
The two also told team members that the focus for Wednesday would be to emphasize that the race remains stable, contrasting with former President Donald Trump and amplifying Biden’s upcoming events in swing states, such as his trip to Wisconsin on Friday. fair.
Biden also spoke separately with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Wednesday, sources familiar with the conversation said.
And a spokesperson for Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., the former House majority leader, told NBC News that the two spoke on Wednesday but that “the contents of that call will remain private.”
Biden spoke with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on Tuesday.
Also on Wednesday, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients called White House staffers, urging them to “get things done,” “keep their heads up” and “execute the president’s agenda,” he said. a White House official told NBC News.
Zients also told employees to ignore any outside noise and chatter and remain disciplined.
The meeting with governors Wednesday night came after a group of state executives met separately Tuesday on a conference call hosted by Walz, president of the Democratic Governors Association.
Walz, Newsom, Whitmer, Moore, Hochul and Democratic governors. JB Pritzker of Illinois, John Carney of Delaware, Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Dan McKee of Rhode Island and Andy Beshear of Kentucky planned to attend the White House meeting in person, while others participated virtually.
Harris also attended the meeting, alongside Biden, a White House official told NBC News.
“Democratic governors are proud to be some of the president’s closest partners and allies on the campaign trail. Together, we have created millions of jobs, rebuilt roads and bridges across the country, and made critical investments in communities that have been left behind for too long. The president has worked side by side with us to help the people of our states, and we look forward to speaking with him today,” Walz said in a statement Wednesday.
A Democratic source familiar with the meeting plans said the governors support Biden and that “at a time when everyone wants to return to the main contrast in this race, they want to listen to the president and offer important ideas from their states as allies.” and people who were there as his campaign surrogates.”
Newsom sent an email Wednesday raising funds for his upcoming meeting with Biden, with the subject line “Going to the White House.”
In it, he told his supporters: “As you read this, I’m on my way to Washington, D.C. to meet and be with the President at the White House later tonight. When that’s over, I’ll be on the road to campaign for him and Democrats vying for votes in several swing states.
“One of the places I’ll be going is Pennsylvania, where I’ll be with Senator Bob Casey as he runs for re-election in a tough race against a well-funded opponent. … The truth is we all have our roles to play if the Democrats want to win this fall,” the email added.
Donation links in the email directed supporters directly to the Casey campaign’s donation page.
One Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, has already called for Biden to withdraw his re-election bid amid fears that his defection could trigger a series of elected officials moving to break with Biden. Others said they are waiting to see a new round of voting to gauge whether Biden’s support has declined and whether his debate performance has affected any close election contests.
This article was originally published in NBCNews. with
