A small group of Democratic governors affirmed their support for President Biden after a White House meeting with the president on Wednesday, amid growing Democratic calls for him to drop out of the race.
“The feedback was that we are all looking for the way to win. All the governors agree with this, President Biden agreed with this,” said Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, speaking outside the White House with New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Maryland Governor Wes Moore.
Walz noted that Biden protected the governor during the coronavirus pandemic and “governors protect.”
“The path to victory in November is the number one priority and that is the president’s number one priority,” he continued.
Walz responded “yes” when asked by a reporter whether Biden is fit for office, acknowledging that Thursday’s debate was a “poor performance.”
Biden’s re-election campaign said after the meeting that all participants, which were more than 20 governors, both in person and virtually, “reiterated their shared commitment” to helping Biden win in 2024.
The campaign said the meeting with the governors was to “discuss the continued partnership” in the campaign and that the president “sought the advice and experience” of the governors on how to defeat former President Trump in November.
And the campaign said that “the meeting also focused on the importance of electing Democrats at the ballot box to get more Democratic governors and more Democratic majorities in Congress and statehouses across the country.”
Moore, who is considered a rising star in the Democratic Party and whose name has been floated as a possible replacement for Biden, called the meeting with Biden and Harris “honest” and “sincere.” Moore said governors have been clear with Biden about the concerns they have and the concerns they have heard.
“We said we will support him. The president has always protected us, we will support him too,” Moore said.
The governors “pledged our support” for Biden during the meeting, Hochul said.
A source briefed on the meeting said Biden began by saying no one was pushing him out and that he was there to win, adding that Biden looked and sounded better than he has in recent memory.
Biden also told the governors in attendance that he was looking forward to hitting the road more and being improvisational. The source added that the governors presented the governor with “very hard-hitting and difficult questions.”
Vice President Harris spoke at the end of the meeting, according to the source, urging Democrats to unite.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who attended the meeting in person, echoed her colleagues in an X post.
“Joe Biden is our nominee. He is in this to win and I support him,” Whitmer wrote.
The governors’ meeting on Wednesday was part of efforts by the White House and Biden to try to stop the bleeding following his disastrous debate performance.
Republicans were quick to call the meeting “out of touch.”
“Democrats across the country, including Biden’s allies, are now openly advocating for President Biden to suspend his campaign, but Democratic governors are still in the ‘denial’ phase of the grieving process,” said Courtney Alexander, spokesman for the Republican Governors Association. .
Biden and his aides are vehemently insisting that the president stay in the race, while Democratic operatives, former aides and two sitting Democratic lawmakers in the House have urged Biden to step aside since the debate.
And on Wednesday night, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) said he is “taking time to seriously consider the best strategy for Democrats to win this election.”
“When your current strategy doesn’t work, it’s rarely the right decision to double down. President Biden is not going to get any younger,” Moulton said.
As part of the cleanup effort, Biden spoke with congressional Democratic leadership Wednesday morning, including Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (NY) and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY).
The story was updated at 9:47 p.m. EDT
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
