Another meeting of Democratic governors is coming up Thursday, just over a week after they met with President Joe Biden in Washington. In that time, Biden's viability to remain the Democrat's candidate for president has continued to be questioned with prominent supporters saying it may be time for him to step aside in the race.
Those voices, including Minnesota DFL Rep. Angie Craig, have not been joined by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz who is the head of the Democratic Governor's Association. Even though he led that delegation to Washington to meet with the president, Walz has stood steadfastly behind Biden. So far at least.
WCCO Radio political analyst Blois Olson says he's watching to see exactly what Walz is doing behind the scenes in his role with the DGA, and telling the WCCO Morning News with Vineeta Sawkar the governor is in a peculiar spot. He says it would be "awkward" to call on President Joe Biden to step aside at this point.
"On the other hand, if he's, if Governor Walz is one of the last men standing saying, 'oh, you know, I think we can pull this off, we have to listen to the president', it puts him in a really, really awkward spot," says Olson. "And you know, privately his aides are acknowledging. This is not good. This is not good for Biden. This is not good for Democrats."
Walz spoke briefly Wednesday during a press briefing about Biden, saying he's sticking with him.
“At this point in time, if President Biden says he’s going forward, then that’s where I’m at and I’m working with him," Walz explained.
Olson adds more clarity from Minnesota Democrats could be learned this weekend during their State Central Committee gathering in Sauk Rapids, and how they feel about President Biden's chances at winning reelection in November.
"I have no doubt that there's going to be a lot of speculation, and kind of, who should run, who shouldn't run what it should look like," Olson explained. "And that may reveal more of the mood of Minnesota Democrats than anything else."
That meeting gets underway at 10:00 Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, it's another "prove it" day for Biden who yesterday was asked to leave the race by a major celebrity supporter, George Clooney, in a New York Times op-ed.
Biden will hold a news conference at 5:30 p.m. CT Thursday, closing out the NATO Summit in Washington. It's the key event in a monumental week for his campaign as he fends off calls for him to step aside as the party’s presumptive nominee.
The first Senate Democrat, Peter Welch of Vermont, and a ninth House Democrat, Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, publicly called for Biden to end his campaign Wednesday as well, adding to the pressure on Biden to show he's capable of continuing in the race against presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
