Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told President Biden's campaign that her state was no longer winnable after Biden's disastrous debate performance last week, Politico reported Monday.
The news arose from a call between Whitmer and Biden campaign Chair Jennifer O’Malley Dillon. Sources familiar with the call told the outlet that Whitmer expressed frustration that her name was being raised as a replacement for Biden in the wake of the debate.
She disavowed any effort to force Biden to drop out of the race, something a growing number of Democrats are pushing for. Another source told Politico that she gave Dillon a general warning that Michigan was no longer winnable for Biden following his debate performance.
Whitmer's reaction mirrors that of other prominent Democrats, who have rallied to Biden in public while reportedly panicking and raising doubts about his candidacy in private.
BIDEN'S INNER CIRCLE SILENT AS PARTY REELS FOLLOWING ‘EMBARRASSING’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and former House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., reaffirmed their support for Biden during television appearances Sunday.
Pelosi claimed Biden only struggled in Thursday's debate due to former President Trump's on-stage "lies," while Clyburn argued his poor performance was merely due to "preparation overload."
"The fact is, the reaction to the lies of Donald Trump is something that… people are focusing on, and to have a debate where you have to spend half your time negating what he said because he knows nothing about the truth," Pelosi said on CNN's "State of the Union." "On one side of the screen you have integrity and on one side you have dishonesty."
BATTLEGROUND DEMOCRATS LEAVE BIDEN HIGH AND DRY AFTER ‘DISASTROUS’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE
Clyburn, who was the House assistant Democratic leader until last year, also brushed off Biden's embarrassing debate in his interview with Bash, saying he has full confidence that Biden can both beat Trump in November and serve as the leader of the free world for four more years.
"I've been around these things. I've been a part of debate preparation before, and I know when I see what I call preparation overload," Clyburn said. "That's exactly what was going on the other night. I saw Joe Biden grappling for words and phrases and even numbers that he was loaded up with. But today he arrived in North Carolina, he was freewheeling, and he captivated the audience."
