While campaigning for President Biden in the battleground state of Pennsylvania over the weekend, California Gov. Gavin Newsom was asked about his own prospects if the Democratic incumbent drops out of the race.
Newsom, a longtime Biden campaign surrogate, has been a vocal supporter of the president’s reelection and has visited Michigan and Pennsylvania in recent days, but his own name has been floated as a possible successor to Biden if the 81-year-old president steps down and holds an open convention when Democratic delegates meet in Chicago next month to formally choose the nominee.
Speaking at an event in Doylestown, Pennsylvania on Saturday, Governor Newsom said a second term for former President Trump would “send America back,” and praised the Biden-Harris administration’s economic record.
Shortly after Biden’s disastrous debate performance, a reporter asked the California governor after the debate, “If it came to an open debate, would you run?”
“Well, I mean…” Newsom began, before a reporter interrupted him, asking, “Are you absolutely sure?”
Governor Newsom doubles down on Biden’s support in Michigan: ‘I believe in his character’
“To me, it’s the what-ifs that are impeding progress in advancing this candidacy,” Newsom said.
“That’s a legitimate question, but it’s exactly what the other side is trying to do to get us into an infighting situation,” Newsom added. “And I think that’s extremely unhelpful. I said exactly that right after the debate. Those were my first public comments. So I’ve stuck to that belief not just privately, but publicly.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom greets supporters at a campaign event for President Joe Biden, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. (Joe Lamberti for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Newsom’s tour of the battlegrounds came following a private meeting between Biden and Democratic governors at the White House on Wednesday.
Biden has faced growing calls to resign amid concerns that his age and mental health could jeopardize Democrats’ chances against Trump in November’s presidential election.
On Friday, at a campaign rally in Wisconsin, another battleground state, Biden himself addressed the withdrawal speculation, telling the crowd: “I’m going to run and I’m going to win again.”
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“I’m not going to waste three and a half years of hard work on a 90-minute debate,” Biden added.
President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School, Friday, July 5, 2024, in Madison, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Molly Gash)
But after the rally and interview between the president and ABC host George Stephanopoulos, which aired on Friday, Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) became the fifth and latest House Democrat to call on Biden to resign.
In Doylestown, Fox News pressed Newsom on the numbers, asking: “Are you concerned that continuing to support President Biden when other elected officials see some issues with him could damage your own credibility in the long run?”
“No. There may be a few who disagree,” Newsom said. “The majority of the caucus is firmly behind the president. The president made that point very effectively in his interview yesterday and his speech in Wisconsin was very, very, very good. We’ll see the president in Pennsylvania in a few days, and we’ll just stay the course and support the president.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered a forceful defense of President Biden while stopping by the Van Buren County Democratic Party’s Independence Day reception, Thursday, July 4, 2024, in South Haven, Michigan. (Don Campbell/Herald Palladium via The Associated Press)
“So I truly believe in the president, I truly believe in his character, I truly believe in his confidence and his abilities. If I didn’t truly believe in him, I wouldn’t be here this Fourth of July weekend not seeing my kids and my family,” he added.
At the start of the event, Governor Newsom told Biden supporters that the 2024 election is about light and darkness, right and wrong, chaos and incompetence and “the fate and future of our democracy.”
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“This is America turned upside down. They’re trying to take us back to the pre-1960s,” Newsom said of Trump supporters. “And you’re on the front lines of that opposition. You’re the people who can stop that from happening. Voting rights, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, women’s rights, not just access to abortion, but access to birth control, all of these things are on the ballot. Bucks County, we’re counting on you. America’s counting on you. The world’s counting on you. I’m counting on you. My four children are counting on you. Thank you for being here today. Thank you for being here tomorrow. Thank you for being here on Election Day. We’re going to save our democracy and we’re going to bring back four more years of the Biden-Harris Administration.”
Biden is scheduled to speak in Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon.
