Walz, other Democratic governors to meet with Biden after shaky debate performance

Gov. Tim Walz is scheduled to travel to Washington, D.C., to meet with other Democratic governors and President Joe Biden to discuss the party’s presidential campaign strategy.

The meeting scheduled for Wednesday comes just days after Biden’s debate with former President Donald Trump, during which Biden appeared to struggle to keep his train of thought.

Walz led a conference call with the Democratic Governors Association on Monday in light of Biden’s performance in the debate.

“And then the discussion turned to what was clearly a poor performance in the debate last Thursday, and the governors asked questions about, ‘What’s the plan? How are you going to do this? How are you going to get this message out?'” the governor said Tuesday as he toured the damage to the Rapidan Dam south of Mankato.

There is now a call within Congress for President Biden to withdraw from the presidential race.

Texas Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett issued a statement Tuesday saying Biden should step down, writing: “President Biden’s first commitment has always been to our country, not to himself. I hope he will make the painful and difficult decision to step down. I respectfully call on him to do so.”

Even Rep. Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat and former speaker of the House, has taken a hard look at Biden’s suitability for a second term.

“I think it’s a legitimate question to say, ‘Is this an episode or is this a condition?'” she said Tuesday during an appearance on MSNBC.

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.

ABC News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.