Joe Biden’s emergency meeting with Democratic governors to shore up support hit a major stumbling block after a prominent lawmaker was accused of lying.
New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul offered unanimous support to the ailing 81-year-old president after the meeting, but other politicians present say she had no right to do so.
And another Democratic governor, Janet Mills of Maine, did not mince words in criticizing Biden for his terrible performance in last week’s debate, after he tried to calm them by saying he had been given the all-clear in a medical checkup earlier this week.
Mills told Biden directly that she had no problem with his age but felt he was unfit to compete against Donald Trump, while Connecticut’s Ned Lamont asked him what his path forward was, citing the need to make his case to his constituents.
According to sources present, both governors doubted Trump could defeat him in their respective states. No Democrat has lost Connecticut or Maine since 1988.
Joe Biden’s emergency meeting with Democratic governors to shore up support hit a major stumbling block after a prominent lawmaker was accused of lying
New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul (center) offered unanimous support to the ailing 81-year-old president after the meeting, but other politicians present say she had no right to do so.
Several liberal governors, including potential successors Gavin Newsom of California and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, followed Hochul’s lead, obsequiously tweeting their support after the meeting.
Many of the governors, including Whitmer, attended the meeting only virtually. Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was also there.
Biden held the summit at the White House after nearly a week of bad press and calls to drop out of the race following the disaster of his debate with Trump. It lasted more than an hour and attendees described the conversation as “candid.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, seen by many as the likely successor at the top of the ticket, ended the meeting by reiterating the threat to democracy that a Trump victory would pose, according to the New York Times.
Several of the governors tried to assure Democrats that Biden was capable of doing it and that they owed him their support.
“The president has always had our backs. We’ll have his backs, too,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore told reporters.
“The president… is our candidate. The president is the leader of our party,” he added.
Moore, Hochul and Tim Walz of Minnesota, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, were the only three of the 12 who attended in person to speak to the media afterward.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills didn’t mince words when criticizing Biden for his poor performance in last week’s debate, after he tried to calm them down by saying he had been given the all-clear in a medical checkup earlier this week.
Ned Lamont of Connecticut asked what his path forward was, citing the need to make the case to his constituents.
“Obviously, we, like many Americans, are a little concerned. We’re concerned because the threat of a Trump presidency is not theoretical,” Walz said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who attended in person, posted his reaction on social media platform X: “I heard three words from the President tonight: He’s fully engaged. And so am I.”
The Biden campaign said the president reiterated his determination “to defeat the existential threat of Donald Trump at the ballot box in November” and discussed the importance of electing Democrats at all levels of the ticket.
“All participants reiterated their shared commitment to do everything possible to ensure that President Biden and Vice President Harris defeat Donald Trump in November,” it said.
Biden’s efforts to pull multiple levers to salvage his faltering reelection bid include an impromptu appearance with campaign aides, private conversations with senior lawmakers, a weekend of travel and an interview on a television network.
But he faced serious signs that support for him was rapidly eroding on Capitol Hill and among other allies.
Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., said that while he supports Biden as long as he is a candidate, this “is an opportunity to look the other way” and what Biden “has to do is take responsibility for keeping that position, and part of that responsibility is getting out of this race.”
Wealthy donor Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix, also called on Biden to step down.