Democratic governors unite around Biden as party nominee after White House meeting

A group of Democratic governors announced on Wednesday that they will continue to support President Joe Biden as the Democratic Party nominee for president this November, after meeting with him at the White House.

Democrats were spooked last week after Biden participated in a presidential debate against former President Donald Trump, where his performance has been described as a crisis by some commentators. Some Democratic leaders have also suggested the party should consider replacing Biden with a different candidate. 

Govs. Kathy Hochul of New York and Wes Moore of Maryland said all the Democratic governors at the meeting promised to support Biden as the Democratic nominee. More than 20 governors from blue states were present either in person or virtually, according to The Hill.

“We said we will stand with him. The president has always had our backs, we’re going to have his back as well,” Moore said. 

The governors said they met with Biden to discuss the debate performance, voice their own concerns, and address the concerns they hear from residents in their states.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green told CNN that his real concern was whether Biden was "up to" being the president for another four years.

“You have to compare the clinical concerns that we have,” Green said before the meeting. “We have a president who is forgetful and had a terrible debate. That is correct. We also have have serious concerns about former President (Donald) Trump’s temperament.”

Gov. Tim Walz from Minnesota said that after the meeting, the governors agree the president had a bad night in the debate, but that he believes Biden is still fit for office.

“What we saw in there today was a guy who was the guy that all of us believed in the first time who could beat Donald Trump and did beat Donald Trump," Walz said.

Govs. Gavin Newsom from California, and Gretchen Whitmer from Michigan also reiterated their support for Biden following the meeting, despite being considered two of the top choices to replace him as the nominee if there's an open floor vote at Democratic National Convention in August.

“Joe Biden is our nominee. He is in it to win it and I support him,” Whitmer said in a post on social media.

Biden's presidential campaign denied reports that the president is considering dropping his bid for the White House, claiming that any allegations that the White House are considering alternative plans is "patently false."

“The President is and will remain our party’s nominee, and Vice President Harris is proud to be his running mate, and looks forward to serving at his side for four more years,” Brian Fallon, a campaign spokesman, told CNN.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.