Gov. Tim Walz says Democratic governors continue to support President Joe Biden, even as concerns have grown among Democrats over whether the president can continue his campaign for a second term following his debate performance last week.
“We are all looking for the path to win. All the governors agree with that. President Biden agrees with that. He has had our backs through COVID, through all of the recovery, all the things that have happened. The governors have his back,” Walz said, following a meeting he led with other Democratic governors and Biden at the White House on Wednesday.
“We’re working together just to make very, very clear on that. A path to victory in November is the number one priority, and that’s the number one priority of the president,” Walz continued.
Walz led a delegation of more than 20 governors in joining Biden at the White House on Wednesday. Some attended the meeting in person and others virtually, with at least 10 governors having traveled to D.C. alongside Walz, including Govs. Gavin Newsom of California, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Kathy Hochul of New York and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan.
Following the meeting, Walz said he believes Biden is fit for office.
“Three and a half years of delivering for us, going through what we’ve all been through. None of us are denying, Thursday night was a bad performance. It was a bad hit ... but it doesn’t impact what I believe he’s delivering,” Walz said.
Though Democrats have sharply criticized Biden’s debate performance, they have largely stopped short of calling for him to withdraw from the race, even as their concerns have grown over his age and mental acuity. Only two House Democrats have called on Biden to drop out of the race, and a Democratic mega-donor, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, also joined the chorus.
So far, Biden has vowed to remain in the race and has not given any indication that he will step aside. Vice President Kamala Harris could be the next option to run if Biden were to exit the race. But Newsom and Whitmer’s names have also been floated as possible alternatives to Biden.