Biden plans to meet with Democratic governors, seek to shore up their support after volatile debate

COLLEEN LONG, Associated Press

6 minutes ago

President Joe Biden leaves the podium after speaking in the Cross Hall of the White House, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has invited Democratic governors to meet Wednesday as he tries to shore up support among his party’s top leaders after last week’s shaky debate performance.

The talks are expected to be mostly virtual, according to two people familiar with Biden’s plans who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss a timeline that has not yet been made public. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden would speak with Democratic governors and also hold calls with party leaders in Congress.

The meeting comes after Democratic governors held their own call earlier and asked Biden to speak to them, according to three people familiar with the president’s schedule.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, said that on the previous call, governors talked about “what was clearly a poor performance” in the debate, with participants “asking questions about what is the plan?”

Waltz said he expected Wednesday’s meeting to address “some of the same concerns.”

The discussion with governors and Democratic congressional leaders is the strongest indication yet that Biden is trying to allay fears among some Democrats that he may not be able to sustain a campaign — let alone defeat Donald Trump — after his sometimes raucous and halting performance in last week’s debate in Atlanta.

Biden denounced the Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity on Monday night, but otherwise announced a largely politics-free and business-as-usual post-debate schedule — including plans to host July 4 celebrations at the White House for Thursday’s holiday.

Texas Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett on Tuesday called on Biden to formally withdraw from the race, after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on MSNBC that it was fair to question whether Biden’s debate performance was an anomaly or part of a larger pattern.

“I think it’s a legitimate question to say: Is this an episode or a condition,” Pelosi said.

Nor is there any indication that the president is seriously considering stepping down.

His campaign has downplayed the president’s political problems in a series of memos and private meetings with donors, strategists and party insiders, insisting that Biden can put his poor debate performance behind him without hurting his long-term chances in November.

Not all of the party’s governors are expected to attend the rally. In Kansas, the office of Gov. Laura Kelly, who has broken with Biden in the past, including over COVID-19 vaccines, has not said whether she will attend. Spokeswoman Grace Hoge pointed to a statement Kelly released Friday after the presidential debate calling Biden “a decent man with strong character” and saying the governor “will support him in November.”

___

Associated Press writer John Hanna contributed to this report from Topeka, Kansas.