Biden’s apparent lack of capacity to campaign energetically has left surrogates such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom busy touting his support amid growing pressure from the president’s allies to back down, which critics say is preventing him from fully focusing on his own state’s plight.
“That is a complete lie. This entire campaign will have a disproportionate impact on our state,” Governor Newsom said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Newsom rallied Democrats in Michigan and Pennsylvania this week before making a pitch for Biden in New Hampshire, part of the Biden-Harris campaign’s battleground state tour — a state that has been heavily Democratic for decades but is now poised to become a battleground state in 2024.
“I don’t think the majority of Americans understand that Gavin Newsom’s goal is to become president and has always been that,” state Sen. Brian Dahl, who faced Newsom in a 2022 special recall election, said in an interview on Fox News Digital.
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California Governor Gavin Newsom campaigned for President Biden at a Democratic Party event in Southaven, Michigan on the Fourth of July. (Chris Dumond/Shutterstock)
“Budgets are being turned upside down. Businesses are moving out of California. People can’t afford to live here. So, obviously these are issues that need to be addressed here, but that’s not what he’s here for,” Dahl said.
Last month, the state’s Democratic-controlled Legislature passed a controversial budget aimed at eliminating an estimated $46.8 billion deficit, but Republicans say they were given little consideration.
Newsom has strongly denied there is a “shadow campaign” to replace him, but said at a Biden-Harris rally in Michigan on Thursday that he has been appointed by the campaign and will “go wherever” the Biden administration needs him to go and do “any job, big or small” because he believes in the man.
“I believe in his character,” he said.
The Biden campaign reportedly held an all-hands call with Democratic National Committee staff on Monday to try to address the decline in morale, and Newsom was on the call, reportedly urging Biden staff to “not worry too much.”
“I ask all of you: Don’t worry, just do your job,” Newsom told Biden’s staff on a conference call. According to Axios“I think there’s an old African proverb that says, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’ This is what it’s all about.”
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Newsom’s recent appearance in Michigan comes as President Biden is facing pressure to drop out of the 2024 presidential race. (Chris Dumond/Shutterstock)
But Newsom held a press conference Wednesday about California’s scorching heat and numerous wildfires. The governor’s public schedule does not include any additional travel outside the state, with aides briefing him on emergency response decisions and other key matters while he makes his case for Biden.
Meanwhile, California continues to lose large numbers of residents to other more conservative states, and its biggest cities struggle to lower crime rates and reduce homelessness. California is home to nearly one-third of the nation’s homeless population, with more than 181,000 people living outdoors, according to statistics from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. 2023 Homeless Assessment.
“California is unlivable because of regulations and a liberal legislature that keeps making everything more expensive,” Dahl said. “So housing is expensive, electricity is expensive, food is expensive, everything is expensive.”
“The thing about Gavin Newsom is he puts out policies, he talks about them, he talks about spending money, and none of it works. He’s spent $20 billion on homelessness and we’ve only seen more homelessness,” he said.
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“I will never turn my back on President Biden,” Newsom said Thursday in comments that appeared intended to dispel rumors that he was running a shadow campaign. (Chris Dumond/Shutterstock)
After Biden’s lackluster performance in last month’s debate with former President Trump, Newsom attended the debate and assured reporters in the spin room that he remained a staunch supporter of Biden.
“I will never turn my back on President Biden,” Newsom said Thursday in comments that seemed intended to dispel rumors that he was running a shadow campaign. “There is no Democrat in my party that would do that. Especially after tonight, we support him.”
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Fox News Digital’s Timothy Nerozzi contributed to this report.
