Pritzker Backs Biden After Venting Over Failure to Communicate

(Bloomberg) -- Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said he is backing Joe Biden for re-election, joining a chorus of elected officials to get behind the embattled President after initially offering measured criticism.

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“Joe Biden is going to be the nominee of the Democratic Party,” Pritzker said at a press conference in Chicago on Tuesday. “I’m gonna go out there and wholeheartedly campaign and endorse him and Kamala Harris.”

The billionaire governor last week said in an interview with CNN that the president needed to communicate more to explain his strategy and allay voter concerns after the 81-year-old’s disastrous debate against Donald Trump when he spoke in a raspy voice and stumbled over answers.

Pritzker met Biden together with other Democratic governors at the White House on Wednesday night when Biden sought to dispel anxiety over his performance and campaign. After the crisis meeting, governors including California’s Gavin Newsom, expressed strong support for Biden’s reelection, while Pritzker merely commented on the “candid” nature of the conversation.

Pritzker, who is seen as a potential presidential candidate should Biden decide to step aside, then remained mostly silent on the issue as a small group of Democrats called for Biden to step aside from the race.

Biden is “going to be at the convention in August by accepting the nomination and I’ll be cheering for him,” Pritzker said at the Chicago event.

Pritzker is stepping in for Biden to headline the Indiana Democratic Party Hoosier Hospitality Dinner in Indianapolis on Friday. He also will handle the the keynote at the Ohio Democrats’ Annual Family Reunion on Saturday.

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