President Biden is scheduled to meet with several Democratic state governors in a private meeting at the White House on Wednesday, part of an effort to reassure supporters that he can still win the November election, despite last week’s debate debacle.
The White House has not released the names of the governors who will meet with Biden in the Roosevelt Room, just steps from the Oval Office.
The meeting was added to the schedule as the president tries to maintain a semblance of normalcy amid the biggest political crisis in his nearly four years in office. Before meeting with the governors, Biden is scheduled to posthumously present the Medals of Honor to two Civil War soldiers who fought against the Confederacy in 1862.
However, the situation surrounding the president is by no means normal.
Democrats are openly debating whether Biden, 81, should forgo reelection, arguing that he is too old to effectively campaign against former President Donald J. Trump. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, on Tuesday called on Biden to step down.
At the same time, the first independent polls since the debate are beginning to emerge, showing the president trailing behind Trump. A CNN poll showed Biden losing to Trump by six percentage points, 49 percent to 43 percent. A series of polls by a Biden super PAC leaked to the news site PAC showed the president losing in battleground states and in previously winning states like New Mexico, New Hampshire and Virginia.
Privately, Mr. Biden and his aides are trying to reassure lawmakers, donors and activists that they can turn things around, while publicly the White House and campaign are planning a series of events to show voters the debate was just a bad night.
Biden will speak to ABC host George Stephanopoulos on Friday — his first extended interview since the debate — before heading to Madison, Wisconsin, for a campaign stop and then Philadelphia on Sunday.
