The White House announced that all of the nation’s Democratic governors attended a meeting with President Biden either virtually or in person on Wednesday night, amid continuing political fallout from his performance at last Thursday’s debate.
Among those at the White House were Sens. Gavin Newsom of California, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Andy Beshear of Kentucky, all three of whom have been floated as potential presidential candidates.
Sens. Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Kathy Hockle of New York, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Tim Walz of Minnesota also attended the meeting. Walz, who is chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, organized a call with the governors on Monday to discuss concerns about Biden’s debate performance, which led to the meeting on Wednesday.
Fourteen governors, including Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, North Carolina’s Roy Cooper and Arizona’s Katie Hobbs, participated in the meeting remotely.
Many Democratic governors have publicly voiced their full support for Biden, with Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee telling local media on Wednesday he would attend the meeting himself “to show my support for the president.”
Wes Moore of Maryland, who was also in attendance, told CBS News on Sunday that he wouldn’t seek the nomination if Biden withdraws. “Joe Biden is not going to withdraw from this race, nor should he withdraw,” he said.
Some have said they saw the meeting as an opportunity to have a frank discussion about Biden’s health, with Gov. Beshear telling CNN on Tuesday that the governors “want to make sure Biden is OK.”
Josh Green of Hawaii, who participated remotely, said in an interview Wednesday that he planned to hear his thoughts on the president’s ability to serve a second term.
Green, the physician who led Hawaii’s COVID-19 response, said Biden was “doing his best” in helping with the Maui wildfires, but he noted that both Biden and former President Donald J. Trump “are older and both are going to face challenges over the next four years.”
The report Grace Ashford, Mike Baker, Katie Glueck, Jack Healy, Shawn Hubler, Ernesto Londoño, Eduardo Medina, Simon Romero, Jenna Russell and Mitch Smith.
