Biden blows off governor 'concerns' and says he's staying in race

Biden blows off governor 'concerns' and says he's staying in race

Democratic governors said Wednesday night that they expressed 'concerns' with President Joe Biden at a White House meeting with several of the party's rising stars, but the 81-year-old's heels were dug in.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the current head of the Democratic Governors Association, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul were asked with addressing the press after the meeting.

'Obviously we, like many Americans, are - we're worried. We're worried cause of the threat of a Trump presidency,' Walz said. 'We are all looking for the path to win. All the governors agree with that. President Biden agrees with that.'

'A path to victory to November is the No. 1 priority and that's the No. 1 priority of the president so that's what we're trying to get done,' he continued.

But after saying that, Walz and the other governors said that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris expressed they were staying in the race and playing to win.

Ahead of the meeting Newsom was fundraising off his trip to the White House, indicating that he planned to encourage Biden to stay the course.

'As you read this, I am on my way to Washington, D.C. to meet and stand with the president at the White House later tonight,' the fundraising plea said. 'When that's over, I'll be hitting the road to campaign for him and Democrats running up-and-down the ballot in several swing states.'

Newsom was on hand at the debate Thursday, a near-constant presence in the spin room who was immediately tasked with doing damage control.

'I will never turn my back on President Biden. Never turn my back on president Biden. I don't know a Democrat in my party that would do so,' he told reporters in a gaggle.

Cut to Wednesday and two Democratic lawmakers have said that Biden should drop out of the race - Reps. Lloyd Doggett and Raúl Grijalva.

Others voiced concerns.

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said it was a 'legitimate question to say, is this an episode or is this a condition?'

'When people ask that question, it's completely legitimate - of both candidates,' Pelosi said.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear - who attended the Wednesday night meeting - floated that Biden had some work to do to recover from the bad debate.

'Well, Joe Biden is our nominee, and ultimately that decision on continuing or not will fall to him and his family,' Beshear said. 'But I don't think that there's anything wrong with asking the president to talk to the American people a little bit more about his health or that debate performance.'

While the meeting was ongoing, Rep. Seth Moulton released a statement saying he had 'grave concerns about his ability to beat Donald Trump.'

'The unfortunate reality is that the status quo will likely deliver us Donald Trump,' Moulton conceded.