DALLAS — The timing proves its importance.
The night before the Fourth of July holiday, every Democratic governor in America either flew to Washington D.C. for a face-to-face meeting or spent more than an hour on a virtual call.
They heard directly from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
And Biden and Harris heard directly from them.
“It was a great conversation with the President and Vice President because it was candid,” said Maryland Governor Wes Moore.
“When you love someone, you tell the truth. We came in and we were honest about the feedback we were getting. We were honest about concerns we were hearing from people.”
The meeting was called after governors raised concerns they hadn’t heard answers from Biden following his debate performance.
Biden lost his train of thought multiple times during the late June debate and some of his answers to questions were not coherent.
Moore, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz spoke with reporters on the White House lawn after the meeting ended and expressed a renewed sense of confidence.
“We feel very confident in his abilities, and we talked about the plan and how he’s going to be focused on issues that matter to Americans, and I felt very confident coming out of this meeting,” Hochul said.
A reporter immediately asked, “Is he fit for office?”
Walz quickly responded, “Yes, he’s fit for office.”
Walz said Biden told the governors he got in his own head during the debate.
“He said he didn’t listen to himself,” Walz said. “What we saw in there was the guy who we all thought the first time could beat Donald Trump and did beat Donald Trump.”
The Democratic mayor of D.C. and governors of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands also attended.