All of the nation’s Democratic governors attended a meeting with President Biden, virtually or in person, on Wednesday night, the White House said, amid the lingering political fallout from his performance at last Thursday’s debate.
Among those in attendance at the White House were Gavin Newsom of California, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Andy Beshear of Kentucky, all three of whom 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 attended 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 on Wednesday.
Fourteen governors attended 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 was also in attendance in person, told CBS News on Sunday that he would not seek the nomination if Biden were to step down. “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 participated remotely, said in an interview Wednesday that he would listen to the president’s own thoughts on his ability to run 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.