WASHINGTON — After a meeting at the White House On Wednesday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said President Biden is “fit for office,” even as some Democratic colleagues called on him to withdraw from the race over concerns about his poor debate performance.
Walz, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, joined several of his Democratic colleagues who lead states across the country — some in person, some virtually — to speak directly with the president. He and Governors Wes Moore of Maryland and Kathy Hochul of New York spoke to reporters after their meeting and pledged their support.
“He’s stood by us through COVID, through all the recovery, all the things that have happened. The governors stand by him,” Walz said. “We’re working together. And to make that very, very clear: A path to victory in November is priority number one. And that’s the president’s number one priority.”
Mr. Biden, who is 81, is facing some calls to step aside from lawmakers in his party as his weak debate performance has fueled concerns among many voters that he is too old to seek re-election. That in turn has troubling issues within the Democratic Party on whether Biden can defeat former President Donald Trump in November.
But Mr. Biden swears He will stay in the race.
Asked outside the White House on Wednesday whether he thinks Mr. Biden is “fit for office,” Walz said bluntly: “Yes, he is fit for office.” He again acknowledged the poor debate performance but praised Mr. Biden’s record as president.
“None of us deny that Thursday night was a bad performance. It was a bad performance, if you want to call it that. But it doesn’t change what I believe — he’s delivering,” Walz said.
“What we saw there today was a man we all believed in when we were able to defeat Donald Trump for the first time, and we did,” the governor later added.
A new CBS News Poll Shows Trump holds a lead over Biden, both nationally and in key states likely to determine the outcome of the election.
Walz and other governors had a phone call earlier this week and discussed the debate and its impact on the campaign, Walz said when asked by reporters on Tuesday. On Wednesday, they took their concerns directly to the White House when Mr. Biden tried to gain support.
Other governors who came to the White House in person include Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, JB Pritzker of Illinois and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan — all Democrats with national profiles who have been key campaign surrogates for the president’s re-election campaign.
Caroline Cummings
