PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs finally broke her silence after President Biden’s meeting with Democratic governors last week, offering remarks that were quite different from the positive interpretation she had previously given of her Democratic colleagues’ tough debate performance last month.
“That’s up to the president,” she said at a press conference on Wednesday when asked by The Washington Post whether Trump should remain the top Democratic candidate.
Hobbs did not provide details about the “private” meeting but said the president must address concerns about his viability as a future nominee.
“I know Arizonans are concerned about the president’s age, and I think those concerns have only intensified since the debate. I think the president has a lot of work to do to reassure Arizonans and the American people, and I think he understands that that’s his job over the next few weeks.”
The Washington Post reported last week that the governor declined to comment on the meeting, but a source said the “top-down” message from the Biden campaign was intended to show unity as Biden continues to insist he will be the nominee amid ongoing divisions within the Democratic camp in Washington.
“Joe Biden can get the job done. That’s all I’m going to say about where we are,” Hobbs said before being asked whether he should remain a candidate. The governor, who is not up for re-election until 2026, said his main focus is not on the presidential race but on winning Democratic majorities in the state Legislature, with Republicans holding slim leads in both houses.
Still, Hobbs criticized Biden’s opponent, former President Donald Trump.
“Like everyone else, I have a vote in this election and to me the choice is crystal clear: those who want to protect our democracy and those who want to destroy it,” she said.
Hobbs agrees that KPNX-12 was the obvious choice. “Sunday Square Off” She made the comments shortly after last month’s debate, but said nothing about concerns about aging and repeated a common argument shared by Biden and his supporters about looking at “alternative options” rather than “comparing him to God almighty.”
The Post reported that Biden supporters in Arizona remained steadfast in their support for the president on Monday, with some saying “Washington elites” threatening to remove Biden from the running “is no different than what Trump was doing before January 6.”
Meanwhile, polls continue to show Trump with a slight lead in the battleground state of Arizona: The Cook Political Report upgraded the Grand Canyon State to a “Republican advantage” in its Tuesday electoral college projections, with the former president holding an average lead of 5.4 percentage points in recent head-to-head polls. Real Clear Politics.
