Tuesday, 05 November 2024

Dem Govs Held Private Meeting Over Concerns About Biden, Request Convo With President


Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota, speaks during the Aspen Ideas: Climate conference in Miami Beach, Florida, US, on Thursday, March, 9, 2023. Photographer: Eva Marie Uzcategui/BloombergEva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Democratic governors reportedly held a private meeting on Monday to discuss President Joe Biden’s apparent feebleness and are requesting a briefing from the president himself.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the chairman of the Democratic Governors’ Association, organized the call. It included governors, but no members of their staffs or any representative of the White House, according to CNN host Jake Tapper.

“On the call Dem. governors expressed concern about what’s going on with the president,” Tapper said in a post on X. “They know if they come forward publicly with concern that likely will cause Biden to dig in more.”

The White House had not reached out to any of the governors by the time of the call. Biden faces significant pressure to forgo his re-election bid after he appeared feeble and, at times, incoherent during his debate with former President Donald Trump last week. At one point, he claimed that his administration “finally beat Medicare.”

The Democratic governors expressed a desire to hear from the president, seemingly so that Biden could reassure them about his health and answer questions.

“There was strong sentiment that they needed to hear directly from President Biden,” Tapper said.

“They are trying to set up a meeting at the WH …or via Zoom for those who can’t come…nothing is on the books yet….but WH knows of request,” Tapper continued. “Dem Govs are not coming in with any specific message– but they feel they need to hear from President Biden.”

Plans for a meeting between the governors and the White House are moving forward, though a date has yet to be set, according to CNN.

The president has faced widespread criticism over his debate performance, but Democrats are more split on how to recover from it. Former Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) has said that Biden should step aside and allow his vice president, Kamala Harris, to become the Democratic nominee for president. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and others have said that Biden should continue and that fears over the debate are overblown.


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