California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) told reporters in an Atlanta spin room Thursday night after the first presidential debate leading up to the 2024 general election, which aired on CNN, that President Biden won the debate on “substance.”
Newsom and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) were sent into the press corps as surrogates for the Biden campaign and given the seemingly impossible task of turning a debate that even MSNBC thought Biden had lost into a victory for the incumbent.
“To me, it was about light and dark… I’m all about substance,” Newsom said. “This isn’t about style… Biden not only asserted himself, but he reminded people of his accomplishments and his vision for the future.”
Newsom added that he was outraged that the former president had said the U.S. economy was in trouble.
The California governor has been a staunch Biden surrogate for months, praising the president’s record and attacking Republicans and Fox News. He has dismissed speculation that he might take Biden’s place if the 81-year-old president becomes too old to continue campaigning.
After Biden’s awkward onstage performance, the possibility of him withdrawing suddenly seemed real.
At the news conference, Newsom ignored questions shouted by reporters asking whether he would consider replacing Biden.
Later on MSNBC, Newsom said it was “unhelpful” for Democrats to discuss replacing Biden, but appeared to acknowledge that Biden had performed poorly.
“What kind of party is that, to turn your back on them after one performance?” Newsom asked, saying talk of replacing Biden was “unhelpful to our democracy.”
He said Democrats needed to “turn the page” on the debate and “stand by” Biden as the race continues. As he argued, everyone had a bad night.
“Focus on tomorrow, focus on the future,” he told MSNBC.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He recently published an e-book,Trumpian virtues: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump’s presidency” is available on Audible. He is also the author of an e-book. Not Free or Fair: The 2020 US Presidential ElectionHe is the recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship in 2018. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
