Democrat governors rallied behind President Joe Biden on Wednesday as the 81-year-old president faces growing calls to step aside and not run against former President Donald Trump this fall.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the chair of the Democrat Governors Association, attended the Biden event in person along with California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. The others attended the event virtually.
The Wall Street Journal found in a poll released on Wednesday that Trump leads Biden 48% to 42% and 80% of voters now say that Biden is “too old” to run again for president.
“Yes, he’s fit for office,” Walz claimed to reporters after the meeting. “None of us are denying Thursday night was a bad performance, it was a bad hit, if you will, on that, but it doesn’t impact what I believe, that he’s delivering.”
“The governors have his back,” Walz added. “A path to victory in November is the number one priority and that’s the number one priority of the president.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after 24 Democratic governors’ meeting with President Biden: “The governors have his back.” pic.twitter.com/PXgbrnIEIQ
— Joey Garrison (@joeygarrison) July 3, 2024
Moore said that the governors were “honest” with Biden about what their “feedback” was for him following the debate.
“We were honest about the concerns that we were hearing from people,” Moore said. “And we were also honest about the fact that, as the president continued to tell us and show us that he was all in, that we said we would stand with him.”
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Newsom posted on X after the meeting: “I heard three words from the President tonight — he’s all in. And so am I. @JoeBiden’s had our back. Now it’s time to have his.”
I heard three words from the President tonight — he’s all in. And so am I.@JoeBiden’s had our back. Now it’s time to have his.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) July 4, 2024
“Joe Biden is in it to win it,” Hochul posted on social media. “The stakes this November could not be higher.”
Whitmer posted online: “Joe Biden is our nominee. He is in it to win it and I support him.”
North Carolina’s Roy Cooper said in a statement: “We had a good meeting with the President talking about what’s needed to win. Donald Trump is an existential threat to our democracy, and everyone in the room agreed that defeating him is imperative. President Biden told us he is definitely running for re-election, he is our nominee and we’ll continue doing everything we can to deliver North Carolina for him.”