Biden Meets Democratic Governors Amid Debate Fallout

President Joe Biden will meet with Democratic governors at the White House to reassure his party of his capabilities following a shaky debate with Donald Trump. The mainly virtual meeting aims to stabilize his re-election bid and address concerns from party leaders and campaign funders.

President Joe Biden will hold a meeting with Democratic governors on Wednesday, a White House official said, in the wake of his shaky debate performance last week with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

The meeting, which will be held at the White House but may be largely virtual with governors attending remotely, will give the president a chance to reassure leaders in his party that he is of sound mind and body despite the debate, which prompted some to call for him to step aside as the Democratic Party's presidential nominee. Another source said Biden would also meet with leaders from Capitol Hill this week as he seeks to shore up support among party stalwarts and tamp down talk that he should step aside.

The meetings are part of a broad effort to stabilize the president's re-election bid after his halting, stumbling display on the Atlanta debate stage. His team held difficult phone calls on Sunday and Monday with important campaign funders who questioned whether the 81-year-old Democrat should stay in the presidential race.