Gov. JB Pritzker said Tuesday, July 9, he is “all in” for President Joe Biden after visiting the White House last week with other Democratic governors.
He headed to Washington, D.C., to meet with the president and members of the Democratic Governors Association on the heels of Biden’s performance during the first of two scheduled debates with former President Donald Trump, which raised concerns about the president’s mental acuity.
The governors were seeking reassurances of Biden’s viability as a candidate following the June 27 debate performance.
On Tuesday, Pritzker said the exchange between Biden and the Democratic governors was “a robust discussion” – and he’s “all in” for Biden.
“Listen: Joe Biden is our nominee. I am for Joe Biden. I’ve been campaigning for Joe Biden. I think you’ve seen I’ve got dates scheduled to go to Indiana, to Ohio for Joe Biden,” he said at an unrelated event Tuesday.
Read more: Pritzker to meet with Biden, Dem governors concerned about president’s campaign
Pritzker, who is frequently named as a potential Biden replacement should the campaign reach that point, will speak at the Indiana Democratic Party’s Hoosier Hospitality Dinner in Indianapolis on Friday, July 12, before heading at the Ohio Democratic Party’s Family Reunion in Columbus on Saturday, July 13.
And he said he wouldn’t engage in “hypotheticals” when asked if he’d be interested in replacing Biden should he drop out of the race.
“What we’re doing is talking about why it’s important to reelect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and why it’s important to defeat Donald Trump, who’s trying to take away your freedoms, who’s trying to send jobs overseas, and frankly, would be bad for the economy and bad for working families,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker said “it’s not unreasonable” for opinions to differ on the president’s performance and political chances following the debate.
“There were questions of the president. He answered those questions. You know, some people came away with different impressions, maybe,” Pritzker said of Biden’s meeting with the governors.
But despite some members of Congress calling for Biden to step aside – including U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley of Chicago – Pritzker said he believes Democrats are united in their efforts to defeat Trump.