Healey breaks silence on Biden, urging him to ‘carefully assess’ whether he can defeat Trump

Gov. Maura Healey is urging President Biden to “listen to the American people and carefully assess whether he remains our best hope of defeating Donald Trump.”

The Democrat is a Biden campaign representative and has so far been publicly restrained in her comments about the president following his poor performance in last week’s debate.

Her comments Friday came two days after a White House meeting with Democratic governors, intended to allay concerns among state leaders about Biden’s ability to continue his campaign after the June 27 debate. She told reporters the next day that the event was “difficult to watch” and did not respond directly when asked whether she still supported the president.

The New York Times reported Thursday that earlier in the week, Healey told other governors that the president’s political position was “unsalvageable.”

In a statement released Friday in response to questions from reporters, Healey said Biden “saved our democracy in 2020 and has done a remarkable job over the last four years. I am deeply grateful for his leadership. And I know he agrees that this is the most important election of our lifetimes.”

She said it was up to the president to assess his next move: “The best way forward right now is a decision that the president has to make.” She added that whatever his decision, “I am determined to do everything in my power to defeat Donald Trump.”

Healey is the latest Bay State political leader to weigh in on Biden’s prospects. Congressman Seth Moulton told WBUR Thursday that he doesn’t have confidence in Biden’s ability to beat former President Trump.

Biden is scheduled to make several major public appearances Friday and this weekend, which his critics and supporters will be watching closely. In a social media post Friday afternoon from the president’s camp, Biden stood firm: “I am the nominee of the Democratic Party. I am staying in the race.”