Nearly all Democratic governors plan to attend Biden’s rally
Nearly all 23 Democratic state governors in the country have confirmed through their offices that they plan to meet with President Biden on Wednesday night, either virtually or in person, due to the lingering political fallout from his performance at last Thursday’s debate.
Among those expected to be in the White House are Gavin Newsom of California, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Andy Beshear of Kentucky, their offices said. All three have themselves been floated as potential presidential candidates.
Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Kathy Hochul of New York, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Tim Walz of Minnesota also plan to attend the meeting in person. Mr. Walz, the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, set up a call with the governors on Monday to discuss concerns about Mr. Biden’s debate performance, leading to the meeting at the White House scheduled for tonight.
At least half a dozen governors will participate in the meeting remotely, including Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Katie Hobbs of Arizona.
In public comments, many Democratic governors have said they fully support Mr. Biden. Dan McKee of Rhode Island told a local news outlet on Wednesday that he would personally attend the rally “to express my support for the president.”
Wes Moore of Maryland, who also plans to attend in person, told CBS News on Sunday that he would not seek the nomination Mr. Biden should step aside. “Joe Biden is not going to remove himself from this race, and he shouldn’t,” he said.
Some have said they saw the meeting as an opportunity for a candid conversation with Biden about his health. Beshear told CNN on Tuesday that the governors wanted to “make sure he’s doing well.”
Josh Green of Hawaii, who plans to participate remotely, said in an interview Wednesday that he would listen to the president’s own thoughts on his suitability for a second term.
Dr. Green, a physician who led Hawaii’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, said the president was “on top of things” in their joint work on the Maui wildfire. But he noted that both Mr. Biden and former President Donald J. Trump “are older and both have challenges in the next four years.”
The reporting was provided by Grace Ashford, Mike Bakker, Katie Glueck, Jack Healy, Shawn Hubler, Ernesto London, Eduardo Medina, Simon Romero, Jenna Russel And Mitch Smit.
