Hooksett, New Hampshire – California Governor Gavin Newsom, a key surrogate for President Biden’s reelection campaign, is targeting a small but growing number of Democrats who are urging the president to end his reelection effort.
“It’s not going to help anything, I’ll be blunt about it,” Newsom told reporters on Monday during a visit to New Hampshire, the third battleground state where the governor has been campaigning for Biden since Thursday.
Coming off a grueling performance in his first head-to-head debate with former President Trump a week and a half ago, Biden has been trying to prove he still has the stamina and agility to handle the toughest, most demanding job in the world — and the mental fortitude to beat Trump.
The debate was a major setback for Biden, who at 81 is the oldest president in U.S. history. His halting speech and halting answers in the Atlanta debate caused widespread panic within the Democratic Party, and calls, both public and private, for him to step down as 2024 presidential candidate grew within the party.
Biden responds to Democrats’ calls for withdrawal: ‘It will only help Trump and hurt us’
President Biden and former President Trump debated on Thursday night. (Getty Images)
Over the past week, six House Democrats have publicly called on Biden not to seek reelection, and on Sunday, Fox News and other outlets reported that four House Democrats who hold ranking positions on key committees said in a private conference call that the president needs to step aside.
Asked by Fox News about the political damage caused by such calls from within his party, Newsom said, “It’s obviously unhelpful, but it’s a small minority of people.”
House Democratic leaders call on Biden to step down
And the governor emphasized that the “overwhelming majority of the caucus” still supports Biden: “Everywhere I went the six days that I was out, we had to change venues because so many people showed up. They showed up without giving in to skepticism or fear.”
In a letter to Democratic lawmakers sent on Monday after returning from the July 4th holiday, Biden reiterated his commitment to “keep this campaign going” and insisted, “The question of how to proceed has been debated for over a week now and it is time to end it. We have one job: to defeat Donald Trump.”
President Biden spoke at a campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
“Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the agenda ahead will only help Trump and hurt us,” the president added. “Now is the time to come together, to move forward as a party and to defeat Donald Trump.”
Newsom spoke to reporters shortly afterward. White House officials As President Trump defended Biden’s health and denied that he’d ever been treated for Parkinson’s, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre fielded a barrage of questions Monday afternoon about recent reports that a top neurologist at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center met with Biden’s physician at the White House in January.
White House says president is not receiving treatment for Parkinson’s disease
“Has the president been treated for Parkinson’s? No,” she told reporters after being pressed further on the subject. “Is he being treated for Parkinson’s? No. He’s not being treated for Parkinson’s. Is he taking medication for Parkinson’s? No. So I can answer those questions fully.”
Asked if he had concerns about Biden’s cognitive ability, Newsom said: “I have no concerns.”
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to Fox News and other media outlets during a press conference in Hooksett, New Hampshire, on July 8, 2024. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
“I’ve spent more time with him than probably any other governor in the country, if not more,” Newsom emphasized. “I’ve spent a lot of time with him personally, I’ve spent a lot of public time with him, I was with other governors just a few days ago, we’ve had late night and early morning phone calls, we’ve had very casual conversations in a lot of stressful situations. And I have no doubt about that.”
Several national polls conducted in full after the debate and released last week contained a number of warning signs for Trump, including a widening of his single-digit lead over Biden and growing concern among Americans about whether Biden is up to the task of running the country.
Trump’s approval rating rises in post-debate polls after Biden’s failure
But a Bloomberg Morning Consult poll released over the weekend showed Biden catching up with Trump in several key battleground states that could decide the outcome of the presidential election.
Despite denials, Newsom’s name has frequently been mentioned in media reports as a possible successor if the president changes his mind and decides to end his re-election campaign.
Asked if it was a distraction, the governor said, “Absolutely.”
“Look, this is intentional. I know what these people do,” Newsom said, pointing his finger at conservative media. “This is all being very deliberately instigated to cause a little bit of mishegos (Yiddish for insanity or thoughtless behavior or activity).”
“I don’t take it personally. I don’t take it seriously, but sometimes I think other people take it more seriously than they should,” Newsom said.
He then argued, “This is deliberate misinformation, it’s very effective and we have to counter it, which is why I’m here.”
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In the unlikely event that Biden steps down, Vice President Kamala Harris would be the leading candidate to succeed him.
Asked whether Harris, who served as California’s attorney general and senator before being elected vice president, could beat Trump, Newsom said, “There’s no question about that.”
But he added that “that’s a hypothesis” and “I don’t expect that to happen.”
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, a top surrogate for President Biden, speaks with voters during a stop at a highway rest stop in Hooksett, New Hampshire, on July 8, 2024. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Governor Newsom spoke to reporters after a news conference at a highway rest stop in Hooksett, New Hampshire.
Earlier, the governor met privately with Ray Buckley, the longtime chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, and a group of activists from Concord.
Later, Newsom was in Manchester headlining a fundraiser for Democratic state lawmakers running for office this fall.
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