Gov. Andy Beshear says his fellow Democratic governors want to know how President Joe Biden is doing.
In a Tuesday interview on CNN’s “The Situation Room” with correspondent Pamela Brown, Beshear said seeking clarification about the president’s health isn’t an attack on his candidacy, but something Americans would respond to positively.
Biden will meet with Democratic governors Wednesday, multiple news outlets have reported, in hopes of shoring up support after his poor performance in last week’s presidential debate.
CBS reports that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, chair of the Democratic Governors Association, and some governors plan to be at the White House, while others will attend virtually.
On CNN, Beshear noted he and Brown, the daughter of the late Kentucky Gov. John Y. Brown Jr., are from Kentucky, where southern hospitality includes asking someone how they are doing out of concern.
“When you see somebody, one of the first things you ask is, ‘How are you doing?’ And oftentimes we get way too much information in that response,” Beshear said. “It’s something that we are used to talking about. Now, that’s part of our culture. So, I don’t think it’s an attack on the White House or an attack on the president — who is a good man and a nice man — to just say, ‘Tell us a little bit more about how you’re doing.’”
Beshear’s comments come on the heels of the governor telling reporters on Monday he plans to support Biden, 81, as long as he remains in the presidential race. The White House and Biden campaign have continued to fend off questions about the president’s debate performance on CNN last week against former Republican President Donald Trump, 78. Biden spoke softly at several points, coughed and gave somewhat confusing answers throughout the night. Meanwhile, Trump repeated falsehoods, such as election fraud resulting in his 2020 loss.
Over the weekend, speculation about replacing Biden as the Democratic nominee heightened, with Beshear making some national media shortlists as possible alternatives, along with Vice President Kamala Harris, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
On CNN Tuesday, Beshear said Biden has been good to Kentucky, particularly on infrastructure funding. The governor also warned against a second Trump presidency, saying “the idea of an angry, or even a vengeful, president is very concerning, and is something that we should not allow to happen.”
Beshear said that both Trump and Biden are “the age of grandparents” and for parents the choice comes down to: “If you’ve got two separate grandparents that you can leave your kids with — one is kind and has been good to them, maybe stiffer, may have had a bad debate, and one is angry and talks about getting revenge on people — who are you going to trust your kids with? And should we entrust the country with any less?”
Beshear repeated that the attention he’s received as a possible replacement or a potential running mate for Harris should she move up the ticket is a reflection of Kentucky’s success.
“We have Democrats and Republicans working together. We have record job growth, record exports, record tourism. We’ve seen low recidivism. We’ve seen our drug overdose deaths go down two years in a row, which means we’re taking care of our people better,” Beshear said. “And so while it’s nice to hear your name and things like that, I’m just proud of what we have done as a state, and the president and the vice president have been very helpful in making a lot of that happen.”
Beshear said he has a “good relationship” with Harris” and the two have worked on initiatives like decriminalizing marijuana.
Beshear said the governors hope to have a “direct and candid conversation” with Biden in their meeting and talk strategy. Beshear added that the governors are “very vested in this election,” particularly when it comes to abortion rights.
This article is republished under a Creative Commons license from Kentucky Lantern, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com. Follow Kentucky Lantern on Facebook and Twitter.
McKenna Horsley covers state politics for the Kentucky Lantern. She previously worked for newspapers in Huntington, West Virginia, and Frankfort, Kentucky. She is from northeastern Kentucky.
