Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has faced concerns about Biden’s health and ability to vote, urging him to “prove” himself to voters in the coming weeks and leading some Democrats to call for an end to campaigning.
Whitmer, who has still made it clear she supports the president, said in an interview with MSNBC’s Alex Wagner on Tuesday that Biden has some work to do to bounce back from his shaky performance in last month’s debate.
“I think it’s important to recognize that the debate didn’t go well. I think we all understand that. But what this president has demonstrated since then is aggressive scheduling,” she said.
The governor added that based on their conversations, Biden seems ready to take on the challenge.
“He’s in this race and he’s going to fight like hell to make sure he continues the work that he started in this first term,” Gov. Whitmer said. “I have confidence in him and I will continue to support him… He’s going to have to prove to the public that he’s the right person for the position he’s in, and I think he will.”
Whitmer traveled to Washington last week with other Democratic governors to meet with Biden as he sought support and advice following criticism of his campaign. The governors who attended have since doubled down on their support for the president.
Some critics have raised Whitmer as a possible replacement for Biden if he were to drop out of the race, but she has dropped plans to run for higher office this year, and Biden himself has strongly denied calls to drop out of the race.
She called on Democrats to look past questions about Biden’s campaign and work to get him re-elected.
“The president alone can decide whether he wants to run for office. That’s the president’s decision,” she said, “so now is the time to stop sitting back and waiting and roll up our sleeves.”
“There’s a lot of work to do, but we have the power to meet this moment. There’s no question in my mind,” she continued. “All the talk about what will or won’t happen is based on one man’s decision. He’s made the decision. So let’s get started.”
Trump and Biden remain neck and neck in national polls, with Trump leading Biden by 1.3 percentage points in The Hill/Decision Desk polling average. In Michigan, Biden leads Trump by an average of 0.4 percentage points.
