Democratic state governors said they backed Joe Biden after talks at the White House on Wednesday despite a string of bleak polls for the president and calls from some lawmakers for him to exit the US presidential race.
Biden met more than 20 influential governors on Wednesday evening in an effort to assure them that he was committed to his re-election campaign amid reports that several governors had privately expressed concern about his candidacy.
The White House and Biden’s campaign have insisted that the president will remain in the race despite his disastrous debate performance last week, which sparked panic in the party about his fitness for office and ability to beat Donald Trump in this year’s election.
Afterwards three governors emerged from the White House to insist they had full confidence in the president.
“The governors have his back,” said Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, who added that Biden was “fit for office”.
“The president continued to tell us and show us that he was all in,” said Maryland governor Wes Moore, while New York governor Kathy Hochul added: “President Joe Biden is in it to win it.”
Others present at the meeting included Gavin Newsom of California, Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer and JB Pritzker of Illinois, all of whom are seen as possible successors if the president withdraws from the race.
Newsom later said in a post on X: “I heard three words from the President tonight — he’s all in. And so am I. @JoeBiden’s had our back. Now it’s time to have his.”
I heard three words from the President tonight — he’s all in. And so am I.@JoeBiden’s had our back. Now it’s time to have his.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) July 4, 2024
Biden earlier held a one-on-one meeting with vice-president Kamala Harris as speculation swirled that she could replace him as the Democratic nominee.
The meetings with key Democrats came as pressure mounted on the president with new calls from within the party for him to drop out and polls showing a sharp fall in support for his candidacy in recent days.
A group of national security-focused moderate Democratic House members have drafted a letter urging Biden to withdraw from the race, according to one person familiar with the effort. Bloomberg News first reported that dozens of Democratic lawmakers were privately considering signing a letter demanding Biden step aside.
At the same time, Arizona Democratic congressman Raúl Grijalva on Wednesday became the second House member to publicly call for Biden to suspend his re-election bid.
“This is an opportunity to look elsewhere,” Grijalva told The New York Times. “What [Biden] needs to do is shoulder the responsibility . . . part of that responsibility is to get out of the race.”
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Seth Moulton, a Democratic congressman from Massachusetts, issued his own statement, saying he had “grave concerns” about Biden’s ability to beat Trump.
“President Biden is not going to get younger,” Moulton added. “We should have all viable options on the table.”
“It is unfair, and it is unfortunate, but [Biden] is on the clock,” said one veteran Democratic strategist. “He has to show that he is up to this campaign, this election, and can beat Donald Trump.”
Polls for The New York Times, CBS and The Wall Street Journal, all conducted after the debate, showed a sharp drop in support for Biden.
The New York Times also quoted an anonymous ally of Biden saying the president was aware that his campaign was now in peril, with much riding on forthcoming public appearances. CNN published a similar report citing an unnamed Biden ally.
A White House spokesperson called the Times report “absolutely false”.
Biden told campaign staffers during a call on Wednesday afternoon that he was not dropping out. “I’m in this race to the end and we’re going to win because when Democrats unite, we will always win,” Biden said, according to a person familiar with the call.
Harris also joined the call and insisted she was behind the president: “We will not back down. We will follow our president’s lead. We will fight, and we will win.”
Harris has been plagued by low approval ratings as vice-president but has gained support among Democrats as a possible replacement for Biden in recent days. Betting markets on Wednesday shifted sharply in favour of Harris, giving her better odds of winning the election than Biden.
On Tuesday, a CNN poll conducted after the debate found that while Biden’s approval rating had plunged to an all-time low, Harris was now polling better than him in a hypothetical match-up against Trump.
Trump’s campaign has kept a relatively low profile since the debate, allowing Democratic party infighting to dominate the headlines. But Trump’s senior advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles issued a statement on Wednesday insisting Trump could beat any Democrat, “especially Cackling Copilot Kamala Harris”.
Amid the deepening crisis in the party, Biden spoke by phone to Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries on Tuesday evening and Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and former Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday morning, according to several people familiar with the lawmakers’ plans.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed on Wednesday that Biden had also spoken to longtime allies Jim Clyburn, the South Carolina congressman, and Chris Coons, senator from Delaware.
Some Democratic lawmakers have warned that Biden will not only lose the White House but could drag down the party’s other congressional candidates.
Additional reporting by Joshua Chaffin in New York
