Vice President Kamala Harris hosted a meeting with a group of Democrat governors last weekend to discuss the issues the Biden campaign wanted to focus on in the 2024 presidential election, CBS News reported.
Sources familiar with the meeting said Harris, who hosted the gathering at the vice president’s residence at the Naval Observatory in Northwest Washington, told the governors that they had a critical role in ensuring Biden won their states.
The meeting included a “listening session” in which the governors were free to discuss their concerns with the vice president. One source told CBS News that a central concern for the governors was “the lack of creativity and agility” from the White House.
According to the source, the governors felt that President Biden had to confront Republican lawmakers on immigration and become more forceful in defending abortion.
The meetings also included discussion on how the Democrat governors could further discredit the details about Biden’s memory problems cited in special counsel Robert Hur’s final report.
The weekend gathering was attended by battleground state governors Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Tony Evers of Wisconsin, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, and Roy Cooper of North Carolina. Also in attendance were Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Maryland Governor Wes Moore.
A source described the group as mostly the “battle-tested governors” who led their states during the pandemic and “have the expertise to help” the Biden campaign. Another source said the group consisted of governors who “know how to win.”
The meeting also included members of the vice president’s staff as well as the DNC’s liaison to Democratic governors.
Despite growing concerns over President Biden’s age and cognitive health, there was no discussion about removing Biden from the ticket. One source told CBS News that the governors understood that Biden wasn’t “going anywhere.”
Instead, Vice President Harris praised Governor Pritzker for his criticism of special counsel Hur, whom he described as a “Trump appointee.” Pritzker told reporters on February 9 that it was “extremely unfair” for Hur to include his opinions on Biden’s age and memory problems.
The governors and Vice President Harris agreed on a strategy of questioning Hur’s motivations and shifting focus away from Biden to the danger of Donald Trump returning to office.
