Dem governor and top Biden surrogate urges president to 'carefully evaluate' his path forward

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Reporter shouts question at Biden as he boards Air Force One

A reporter asked President Biden if he can still beat former President Trump in the November election, to which Biden responded, "yes."

Democratic Gov. Maura Healey of Massachusetts, a top surrogate for President Biden as he seeks a second term in the White House, is urging the president to "carefully evaluate" his path forward in the wake of his disastrous debate performance last week.

Healey, in a statement Friday, didn't call on the president to end his re-election bid, as other Democrats have done. But her statement was far from a forceful defense of the embattled Democratic Party standard-bearer.

"President Biden saved our democracy in 2020 and has done an outstanding job over the last four years. I am deeply grateful for his leadership. And I know he agrees this is the most important election of our lifetimes," Healey wrote.

PRESIDENT BIDEN FACES THE MOST CONSEQUENTIAL WEEKEND OF HIS POLITICAL CAREER

Gov. Maura Healey, D-Mass., publicly urged President Biden to consider dropping out of the presidential race, suggesting the president listen to the American people and considering if he is the best person to beat former President Donald Trump. (Photographer: Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

And the governor of the reliably blue New England state said that "the best way forward right now is a decision for the President to make. Over the coming days, I urge him to listen to the American people and carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump."

"Whatever President Biden decides, I am committed to doing everything in my power to defeat Donald Trump," the governor emphasized.

BIDEN RAMPS UP SPENDING IN BID TO STEADY HIS FALTERING CAMPAIGN

Healey traveled to the nation's capital on Wednesday to attend a White House meeting with the president. She was one of roughly two-dozen Democratic governors who huddled with the president. 

Sources with knowledge of the meeting say Biden faced questions about his health, stamina, and political viability going forward.

Wes Moore, governor of Maryland, from left, Kathy Hochul, governor of New York, and Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota, speak to members of the media outside the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, July 3, 2024.  (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Speaking with reporters following the meeting, Democratic Governors Association chair and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Maryland Gov Wes Moore boosted Biden with supportive comments.

But Moore also noted that "we always believe that when you when you love someone, you tell them the truth. And I think we came in, and we were honest about the feedback that we were getting. We were honest about the concerns that we are hearing from people."

WHAT BIDEN SAID ABOUT HIS DEBATE PERFORMANCE 

Healey did not speak to reporters at the White House after the meeting and Friday's statement is her first since the gathering with Biden.

As first reported by the New York Times, Healey told her fellow governors and the president's top staff that his political position is "irretrievable" following his dismal debate performance.

President Joe Biden (R) and Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump participate in the CNN Presidential Debate at the CNN Studios on June 27, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Biden's halting delivery and stumbling answers during the debate with Trump sparked widespread panic in the Democratic Party and spurred calls from political pundits, editorial writers and some party donors for Biden to step aside as the party's 2024 standard-bearer.

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This week, three House Democrats publicly called on Biden to step aside from his re-election bid, while more than a dozen Democratic members of Congress and governors publicly raised serious concerns about whether Biden could continue as the party's standard-bearer.

As he frantically fights to salvage his campaign following last week's debate, the next couple of days may determine if Biden can survive or fall victim to a rising tide of calls from within his own party to end his re-election bid.

The 81-year-old Biden, the oldest president in the nation's history, will need to show Americans that he still has the stamina and acuity to handle the toughest and most demanding job in the world — and prove to Democrats that he has the energy and fortitude to defeat Trump.

At a rally on Friday afternoon in battleground Wisconsin, Biden reiterated that he's staying in the race.

"You probably heard that I had a little debate last week. Can't say it is my best performance, but ever since then, there's been a lot of speculation. What's Joe going to do? Is he going to stay in the race? What's he going to do? Well, here's my answer. I am running and gonna win again," Biden told cheering supporters in Madison, Wisconsin's capital city.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.