Democratic governors said Wednesday night they expressed “concerns” to President Joe Biden at a White House meeting with several of the party’s rising stars, but the 81-year-old stood firm.
“We always believe that when you love someone, you tell them the truth,” said Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. “We know that we have work to do. We know that while we’re here, we’re behind. But we also know that that path to making sure that we can get through November is real.”
Moore, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, current head of the Democratic Governors Association and governor of New York. Kathy Hochul They were tasked with addressing the press after the meeting that was scheduled following the Biden debate disaster.
“Obviously, we, like many Americans, are concerned,” Walz said at the top of the list. “We’re all looking for a path to win. All the governors agree with that. President Biden agrees with that.”
Among the governors present at the meeting were some of the most talked-about candidates in case Biden decided to step aside: California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and even the lesser-known Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
“A path to victory in November is priority number one and that’s the president’s priority number one, so that’s what we’re trying to accomplish,” Walz continued.
But after saying that, Walz and the other governors said Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris expressed that they would stay in the race and play to win.
Democratic governors said Wednesday night they expressed “concerns” to President Joe Biden at a White House meeting with several of the party’s rising stars, but the 81-year-old stood firm.
“It was a great conversation with the president, the vice president, because he was honest,” Moore also said.
At 45, he is considered a rising Democratic star, but not necessarily for this presidential cycle. “He was sincere.”
“And I think we came in and we were honest about the feedback we were getting, we were honest about the concerns we were hearing from people,” the Maryland Democrat said.
But “the president kept telling us and showing us that he was fully committed.”
“So we said we’d be with him,” Moore said.
Before the meeting, Newsom was fundraising from his trip to the White House, indicating he planned to encourage Biden to stay the course.
“As you read this, I am on my way to Washington, DC to meet and be with the President at the White House later tonight,” the funding request read. “When that is over, I will be on my way to campaign for him and the Democrats running in several key states.”
Newsom was present at Thursday’s debate, a near-constant presence in the press room and immediately tasked with damage control.
“I will never turn my back on President Biden. I will never turn my back on President Biden. I don’t know any Democrat in my party who would do that,” he told assembled reporters.
Fast forward to Wednesday and two Democratic lawmakers have said Biden should drop out of the race: Reps. Lloyd Doggett and Raul Grijalva.
Others expressed concerns.
Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi said it was a “legitimate question to say: Is this an episode or is this a condition?”
“When people ask that question, it’s completely legitimate, for both candidates,” Pelosi said.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who attended Wednesday night’s meeting, suggested Biden had some work to do to recover from the bad debate.
“Well, Joe Biden is our nominee and ultimately the decision whether or not to continue will be up to him and his family,” Beshear said. “But I don’t think there’s anything wrong with asking.” “The president wants to talk a little bit more to the American people about his health or his performance in the debate.”
As the meeting was underway, Rep. Seth Moulton issued a statement saying he had “serious concerns about her ability to defeat Donald Trump.”
“The unfortunate reality is that the status quo will probably lead us to Donald Trump,” Moulton acknowledged.