Democratic governors stick close to Biden despite pressure to resign | USA Elections

Joe Biden’s re-election bid has been fighting for survival for almost a week, since the disastrous debate CNN organised against Donald Trump in Atlanta last week. Biden received an oxygen cylinder at his home this Wednesday. Several Democratic governors visited the White House and met the president behind closed doors. Others have joined by video conference. Inside, they say, they have spoken sincerely. On the way out, it was all good words, closing ranks and joining forces to defeat Donald Trump at the polls on November 5. This gesture will not be enough to ease the pressure on Biden to give up his re-election bid.

“The president has made it clear he’s here to win. He’s our nominee and the leader of our party,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, one of three who have served as the group’s spokesman, said at the exit. “We have a binary choice in November between someone who has consistently worked for the people of our states and someone whose vision for the future of this country is absolutely dangerous,” he said, drawing a distinction between Biden and Trump. “We’ve said we’ll be on your side. The president has always supported us, we will, too,” Moore said.

The White House visit was led by Minnesota Governor and Democratic Governors Association Chair Tim Walz. In addition to the mayor of Washington DC (Muriel Bowser), governors Gavin Newsom (California), John Carney (Delaware), JB Pritzker (Illinois), Andy Beshear (Kentucky), Wes Moore (Maryland), Maura Healy (Massachusetts), Gretchen Whitmer (Michigan), Kathy Hochul (New York) and Dan McKee (Rhode Island) participated remotely. The other 14 participated remotely.

The meeting lasted just over an hour and was also attended by Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the first favorite to succeed the president if he ultimately believes he has no chance of being elected in November and resigns the nomination. Among those in the room, Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer and even Andy Beshear have been suggested as possible replacements. The transition from governor to president is almost as natural as that of vice president.

Priority, Winning

Finally, the three governors (Walz, Moore and Hochul) appeared briefly before the media outside the White House and gave the president their full support. “Biden has our support,” the leader of the Democratic governors said. “The answer was that we were all looking for a path to victory. All the governors agree with that, President Biden agrees with that. We are working together to make it clear that our path to victory in November is the number one priority. And it is the number one priority for the president. So that is what we are trying to do. The response was good. The conversation was honest and open,” Walz said.

The Minnesota governor responded positively when a reporter asked him if Biden was fit for office, even admitting that Thursday’s debate was a “poor performance.” This indication from the president, who considers victory in November his number one priority, shows that if he feels he has no chance of winning and someone else can do better, he would be willing to step down and hand over the baton.

“Honest conversation”

“It was a great conversation with the president and the vice president because it was honest,” Moore said. “When you love somebody you have to tell the truth, and I think we were honest about the comments we received and the concerns we heard from people. We were also honest about the fact that, as the president kept telling us and showing us that he was committed, we said we would stick with him,” the Maryland governor added.

“The president has always supported us, so we’re going to cover him, too, because the results that we’ve been able to see under this administration have been undeniable in all of our states. But what makes us more hopeful and optimistic is not necessarily that we fear any alternative, but also that we have hope for the future. We know we have work to do,” Moore continued. “We know that the path to making sure that we can move forward in November is real. And it will take the effort of all of us to get there and work, and we’re grateful to hear the level of enthusiasm and focus that the president and vice president have on winning,” he concluded.

“President Joe Biden is in this to win, and we pledge our support to him because the stakes couldn’t be higher,” said New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has served as spokeswoman for the governors as a whole, but did not offer an explanation for the different positions they faced within the meeting.

“Joe Biden is our candidate. He’s there to win and I support him,” Gretchen Whitmer tweeted after the meeting.

The governors’ support comes at a time when two congressmen have already asked Biden to resign from re-election and others have begun to express doubts. At the same time, the latest polls published show that the gap against Trump is increasing significantly, reducing the Democrat’s chances of being re-elected in the November 5 elections. The pressure from the media and donors is also not decreasing. His candidacy is still in discussion.

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