Whitmer stands by Biden after White House governors’ meeting

Former Vice President Joe Biden links arms with Sen. Kamala Harris and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in Detroit, March 9, 2020 | Andrew Roth

Shortly after a White House meeting President Joe Biden held Tuesday evening to reassure Democratic governors about his candidacy following his widely panned debate performance, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer reaffirmed her support for the president in a brief social media post.

“.@JoeBiden is our nominee. He is in it to win it and I support him,” Whitmer wrote on X.

The gathering came as some Democrats and an array of analysts have called for Biden, 81, to depart the race amid concern about his age and falling poll numbers. The presumptive GOP nominee, Donald Trump, is 78 and was convicted of 34 felonies in a New York court in May.

Vice President Kamala Harris also attended the meeting, with governors attending both virtually and in person. In addition to Whitmer, the group included other Democrats who have been mentioned as replacements for Biden or future presidential contenders: California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.

Whitmer has her first book coming out on Tuesday, further feeding the buzz about a future presidential run. She serves as a national Biden campaign co-chair, doing events across the country in recent months, and also was on his shortlist for vice president in 2020.

Newsom, who’s scheduled to campaign Thursday for Biden in West Michigan, posted a similar sentiment to Whitmer: “I heard three words from the President tonight — he’s all in. And so am I. @JoeBiden’s had our back. Now it’s time to have his.”

Three governors held a press conference outside the White House after the meeting: Moore, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

“We came together tonight to listen to President Biden to tell us, in his own words, what his plans were. I’m here to tell you today President Joe Biden is in it to win it. And all of us said we pledged our support to him because the stakes could not be higher,” Hochul said.

“We talked about how we transitioned under a monarchy and a tyranny that our Founding Fathers fought against and that we risk right now descending back into that very same place. We will stand with the president as we fight that force that force — that force being Donald Trump.”

Moore described the conversation as “candid.”

“It was a great conversation with the President and Vice President because it was honest; it was candid,” Moore said. “We always believe that when you love someone, you tell them the truth.”

Walz told reporters in answering a question that Biden was “fit for office.”

“None of us are denying Thursday night was a bad performance. It was a bad get, if you will on that. But it doesn’t impact what I believe — he’s delivering,” Walz said.  “What we saw in there today was a guy who was the guy that all of us believed in the first time we could beat Donald Trump and did beat Donald Trump.”

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