More than twenty-six Democratic governors met on a call on Monday to express their outrage and concern over Joe Biden’s lackluster performance in the debates, and now they are arranging a meeting with the president that might take place as early as Wednesday.
Three anonymous sources familiar with the matter said that the governors’ meeting with Biden, which is anticipated to take place in person or via video chat, follows a Monday afternoon call during which twenty-two Democratic governors met to commiserate and exchange information in an effort to allay concerns over the president’s dismal performance in the debate. The Democratic Governors Association chair, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who is set to travel in for the meeting with the president, hosted Monday’s event.
One of the individuals acquainted with the call’s contents stated, “It was pretty unanimous that the debate was catastrophic and things are bad, but there are disagreements over what is a realistic alternative or how you change course.” “That’s the current conversation. “Joe is the best bet,” some governors believe, while others are keen on looking into other possibilities.
The governors “sound like any other group of elected Democratic officials right now — utter frustration and nobody thinks the campaign is handling it the right way,” according to another individual familiar with the call. Also,
Two individuals with knowledge of the meeting said they anticipated a forward-looking agenda for the scheduled meeting with Biden. The governors are eager to hear voter input from their respective states and learn more about the campaign’s strategy going ahead.
“People are curious; tell me, Joe, what’s the plan?” How are we, along with you, going to go out there and wave the flag? “Can you and the campaign keep up with the pace?” said one of the individuals told about the call. “A lot of governors are wondering, ‘What’s next?'” Resilience is key.
No reaction was offered by the Biden campaign.
The president went to a rally in North Carolina just after the debate, where he admitted he didn’t do a very good job but promised to improve. Parts of Biden’s interview with George Stephanopoulos, host of “Good Morning America” and “This Week,” will air on Friday and throughout the weekend. Since the debate, he has not given an interview.
Further, on Monday, Democrats close to the administration were informed by White House director of political strategy and outreach Emmy Ruiz that they were in the process of adding travel to Biden’s schedule. This travel might potentially take place on Friday to Milwaukee and Sunday to Philadelphia.
Meetings with prominent contributors have also been organized by Biden’s team in an attempt to allay their fears. Staff members frequently point to their consistent small-dollar fundraising—which reached $127 million last month—as proof of the ongoing support from Democratic voters.
Several governors voiced their displeasure on Monday’s call with Biden and his campaign over the lack of fast communication following the debate. But in X posts, a number of governors’ staffers—including the communications directors for New Jersey’s Phil Murphy and New York’s Kathy Hochul—resisted the portrayal.
Murphy spent two hours on Saturday night with President Trump and was on the phone yesterday. “They had dinner together and caught up privately; they discussed issues ranging from the economy to Ukraine,” wrote Mahen Gunaratna, head of communications for the governor.
