(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden spoke to Democratic governors Wednesday evening as concerns swirled over his debate performance.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green was in attendance and shared details with NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo moments after the meeting. He said Biden “won’t get pushed out” by his colleagues.
“In the first 10 seconds of the meeting, President Biden said, ‘I’m in, I’m staying in the race,’ and he is stubborn, Green said on “CUOMO.” … (My colleagues) did not come out at him and say, ‘Leave the race.’ We asked him for strategy, and he acknowledged that completely.”
CNN’s Jake Tapper first reported, and NewsNation confirmed, that Democratic governors had their own separate call Monday to discuss Biden after his performance at the first presidential debate with former President Donald Trump last week. As he sparred with Trump on Thursday, Biden’s halting delivery and repeated verbal stumbles fueled speculation that at age 81, he is not able to lead for another four years.
On Monday, Democratic governors in the call, organized by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, expressed concern about what’s happening with the president, Tapper wrote, and surprise that they had not heard from Biden after the debate.
During a call between Biden campaign officials, also Monday, one told a Zoom meeting of about 500 donors that Biden “is probably in better health than most of us,” while adding that at his age, he must prove he has the stamina for the job.
Campaign officials promised donors that Biden would not be staying in the race if he didn’t think he was ready for the challenge, sources confirmed to NewsNation.
Biden has repeatedly said he has no intention of dropping out of the 2024 election.
At a White House briefing Tuesday, the first since the debate, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated what officials had said before: that Biden had a cold Thursday night and did not take medication for it.
Asked directly if Biden has Alzheimer’s, dementia or any other disease that could cause memory lapses, Jean-Pierre said no.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.