BOSTON (WHDH) - Gov. Maura Healey traveled to Washington DC Wednesday to meet with President Joe Biden, a spokesperson said.
Healey was one of several governors who met with the president as he contended with the aftermath of last week’s debate against former President Donald Trump.
After the meeting, the governors of New York, Minnesota, and Maryland promised to support the president.
Healey weighed in on the debate on Friday, telling reporters “Joe Biden had a bad debate performance.”
“It was tough to watch,” she said.
“I also saw Donald Trump stand up there and lie,” Healey continued. “I saw him brag about overturning Roe once again and taking away health care for women.”
Healey was previously part of a call with two dozen other Democratic governors to discuss the debate on Monday, POLITICO reported.
While many Democratic leaders have rallied around Biden, Texas Representative Lloyd Doggett on Tuesday became the first sitting Democratic member of Congress to publicly call on the president to step down as the party’s 2024 nominee for president.
“President Biden saved our democracy by delivering us from Trump in 2020,” Doggett said in a statement. “He must not deliver us to Trump in 2024.”
He continued saying, “My decision to make these strong reservations public is not done lightly nor does it in any way diminish my respect for all that President Biden has achieved.”
“Recognizing 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 said.
Oregon Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a fellow Democrat, stopped just short of calling on Biden to step aside, saying “The truth, I think, is that Biden is going to lose to Trump.”
“I know that’s difficult, but I think the damage has been done by that debate,” Perez said.
Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton, another Democrat, expressed his own concern over Biden’s ability to win a second term.
“The unfortunate reality is that the status quo will likely deliver us President Trump,” Moulton said in a statement Wednesday. “When your current strategy isn’t working, it’s rarely the right decision to double down. President Biden is not going to get younger.”
Among Republicans, Trump and others have been swift in their claims that Biden is too old for another term in the Oval Office.
“This idea that Biden had a bad night, that’s not the story,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham on CNN. “He’s had a bad presidency. He’s not a good president.”
Biden recently explained his debate performance, pointing to travel to Europe and Los Angeles shortly before the debate.
Biden said back-to-back European trips left him with jet-lag. He joked at a fundraiser on Tuesday that he “almost fell asleep on stage,” according to the Associated Press.
Where some have spoken out, many Democrats have also continued to downplay Biden’s debate showing as a one-off, saying it is not representative of his candidacy or his ability to serve.
“I wouldn’t put everything on just one bad debate,” said Democratic Mississippi Representative Bennie Thompson. “I have been in elected office a good while. Some days are just not good days. That debate was not a good day.”
“We understand the concerns,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday. “We get it. The President did not have a great night.”
She continued, though, saying “He knows how to do the job.”
“And he knows how to do the job not because he says it, but because his record proves it,” Jean-Pierre said.
The New York Times on Wednesday cited a “key ally” of Biden’s who said Biden acknowledged he may not be able to save his campaign if he does not perform well in public events over the next several days.
Several officials within the White House and the Biden campaign quickly denied the report and, in a call with campaign staff, Biden said “No one is pushing me out.”
Back in front of reporters Wednesday afternoon, Jean-Pierre said Biden has had an opportunity to talk to supporters since the debate. Jean-Pierre said the president has discussed mounting calls for him to step down.
“He understands that it is fair for people to ask that question,” she said. “But we cannot forget his record and what he’s been able to do. We cannot forget how he has been able to deliver for the American people for almost four years. That matters too.”
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)