Biden tells governors he’s staying in the race

President Biden told a group of Democratic governors on Wednesday that he is staying in the 2024 campaign, as the group peppered the president with questions about the path forward after Biden’s disastrous debate performance last week.

After the meeting, a handful of governors spoke to reporters outside the White House, with one of them, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, declaring, “President Joe Biden is going to win, and we all said we have committed our support to him.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, said, “He’s stood with us through COVID, through the entire recovery, everything that’s happened. The governors stand with him, and we’re working together to make that very, very clear.”

But he added: “A path to victory in November is priority number one, and that is the president’s number one priority.”

Maryland Governor Wes Moore agreed.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement: “I heard three words from the president: He is all for it. And so am I.”

And Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer expressed her support on the social media site X.

The meeting concluded with Vice President Kamala Harris outlining the threats to democracy that a victory for former President Donald J. Trump could pose. According to a source, she used at least one profanity in her remarks.

But Ms. Hochul’s statement that the governors “pledged our support” for Mr. Biden alarmed some people who attended the meeting, according to the person with knowledge of what happened and another person with knowledge of the matter. Both people said there was no round-the-clock plea for support and that more than a half-dozen governors had raised concerns in the wake of Mr. Biden’s halting, whispered-about debate performance against Mr. Trump in Atlanta.

One of them, Gov. Janet Mills of Maine, bluntly told Mr. Biden that his age was fine but that people didn’t think he was qualified to run, according to one of the people with knowledge of what happened. Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut said he needed to make his case to voters. Another asked Mr. Biden what the way forward was. (An aide to Ms. Mills did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)

The meeting was quickly arranged, organized by Mr. Walz, after the governors met on Monday. Many at that meeting expressed frustration that they had not had direct contact with Mr. Biden and still did not have a clear picture of what happened after the debate.

Governors have been among Biden’s most ardent defenders — Mr. Newsom will campaign for the president this weekend in Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire — and they are among those most concerned about a second Trump administration. Governors were among those who handled the coronavirus pandemic most closely in 2020, at a time when Mr. Trump was doling out aid to states based on governors he saw as personally deferential to him, or at least uncritical of him.

But they also looked for answers.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, who attended the meeting virtually and who as a physician has led his state’s response to the pandemic, said: “The president said he’s staying in the race. He was very candid about being exhausted on the day of the debate and was very direct about that.”

Dr. Green added that Mr. Biden “was clear and focused in our meeting, and I found him to be solid.” He said Ms. Harris “was amazingly supportive,” and described a Biden presidency as far better than another four years of Mr. Trump in office.

But he also added: “I think people need to see the president in person and on TV to be convinced that he is capable of doing that.”

Chris Cameron contributed to the reporting.