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Joe Biden is set to meet Democratic governors on Wednesday, as concerns mount across his party about the US president’s fitness for office in the wake of a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump.
Biden will meet some Democratic governors in person but others will dial into the gathering virtually, said one person familiar with the plans. Another emphasised it was “just a check-in — not an intervention”.
Several Democratic governors, including Gavin Newsom of California and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, have been floated as possible contenders to replace Biden if he drops out of the race. It is not known yet how many of the two dozen Democratic governors will participate.
The gathering comes as Democrats are clamouring for the Biden team to make the president available to the public through press conferences and other events to try to allay concerns about his acuity.
CNN reported earlier on Tuesday that several Democratic governors wanted to meet White House officials to discuss their concerns about the president. The effort was being led by Minnesota governor Tim Walz, according to CNN.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Biden’s meeting with the Democratic governors comes as disquiet rises in the Democratic party about the 81-year-old president’s fitness to take on Trump or serve another four years in office if he win’s November’s vote.
Lloyd Doggett, a Democratic congressman from Texas, on Tuesday became the first lawmaker from the president’s party to publicly call for Biden to step aside.
“Too much is at stake to risk a Trump victory — too great a risk to assume that what could not be turned around in a year, what was not turned around in the debate, can be turned around now,” Doggett said.
“Recognising that, unlike Trump, President Biden’s first commitment has always been to our country, not himself, I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw,” Doggett added.
Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democratic senator from Rhode Island, on Monday also expressed concerns over the president’s fitness.
“People want to make sure that . . . the president and his team are being candid with us about his condition, that this was a real anomaly and not just the way he is these days,” Whitehouse told a local television station.
Many more Democratic lawmakers, party operatives and donors have privately expressed serious concerns about the president following a halting performance in last Thursday’s debate in Atlanta, Georgia, that magnified public worries about his age and fitness for office.
Nancy Pelosi, the former House Democratic leader, acknowledged in an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday that it was “legitimate” to question the president’s fitness. Jim Clyburn, a South Carolina congressman, also told MSNBC that he would support vice-president Kamala Harris “if [Biden] were to step aside”.
A CNN poll conducted after Thursday’s debate and published on Tuesday showed three-quarters of voters, and more than half of Democrats and independents who lean Democratic, said the party would have a better shot at the presidency with a new candidate.
The same poll showed Trump leading Biden by a six-point margin, 49-43, among registered voters nationwide. The president’s approval rating fell to a new low of 36 per cent among all Americans.
The CNN survey also showed Harris was now polling ahead of Biden. The poll found that in a head-to-head hypothetical match-up, Trump would lead by two points, 47-45, over Harris.
Additional reporting by Alex Rogers in Washington