- Biden met with Democratic governors in an attempt to silence calls for him to drop out of the 2024 race.
- The Biden team used excuses and accusations to explain away its poor performance in the debates.
- During the meeting, Biden said he needed more sleep and would stop holding events after 8 p.m.
Joe Biden has a new solution to calm worries after his abysmal debate against Donald Trump last week: He just needs more rest.
Biden, who now faces mounting pressure to drop out of the race after his performance last Thursday was marked by a raspy voice, meandering thoughts, verbal gaffes and blank expressions, met with key Democratic governors on Wednesday to weed out the doubters.
He again brushed off criticism of the debate as a one-off mistake, according to CNN and the New York Times.
The 81-year-old president said he was still ready to defeat Trump. He told governors he just needed to get more sleep and stop holding events after 8 p.m., according to media reports.
(Biden’s disastrous debate last week started at 9 p.m.)
According to CNN, this solution was not well received by the governors present at the declaration. The Biden campaign team did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider on this information.
Biden’s campaign had previously attributed the poor performance to a cold and jet lag from international travel days earlier.
According to Politico, Biden’s family has privately blamed his top aides, including his senior adviser Anita Dunn, Biden’s attorney Bob Bauer and Biden’s former chief of staff Ron Klain, for his poor performance.
For now, Biden’s political allies and spokespeople are publicly supporting him. That’s still true after the governor’s meeting.
“The president has always supported us,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore told reporters. “We will support him as well.”
Other governors have said they would support Biden if he remains the nominee.
But the leak about Biden’s planned break from evening events is unlikely to help calm nerves about his mental capacity.
A growing number of House Democrats are wondering whether he should simply resign, and Rep. Jim Clyburn, a key Biden ally, has raised the possibility of supporting Vice President Kamala Harris if Biden were to step down, a sign that the unthinkable is now being considered.
A representative told CNN on condition of anonymity that House lawmakers were giving Biden the freedom to decide how to proceed.
In the meantime, Biden must prepare for a high-stakes event. On Friday, he will have a taped interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, a chance to prove he is up to the task of running for president — or a chance to make a gaffe that could torpedo his campaign.
