California Governor Gavin Newsom acknowledged at a Fourth of July Democratic campaign event in Michigan that the presidential debate with former President Donald Trump “didn’t go as well” as Biden had hoped, but remains a strong supporter of the Biden-Harris candidate for the 2024 presidential election.
“I was proudly asked and tasked by President Biden to fly from California to Georgia immediately following the debate to represent the campaign,” Newsom told supporters at the Van Buren Democratic Barbecue party for the Biden-Harris campaign in South Haven, Michigan, on Thursday.
“I had a lot of talking points in mind, but as you might have noticed if you were watching me, I didn’t have them. And this is pretty clear: things didn’t go as well as the campaign hoped and obviously they didn’t go as well as President Biden hoped,” he said.
Newsom, who has strongly denied allegations that he is running a “shadow campaign” to replace Biden, was one of 20 Democratic governors who met privately with Biden for about an hour and a half at the White House on Wednesday night.
“It may have taken a couple of hours,” Newsom said of the meeting. “I say that with absolute certainty: The Joe Biden of two weeks ago was the Joe Biden of my memory. The Joe Biden of two years ago was the Joe Biden of my memory. The Joe Biden that I look forward to being re-elected as president of the United States is this Joe Biden.”
The purpose of the meeting was to shore up support among party leaders and halt a decline in confidence in Biden’s candidacy.
Democratic governors who planned to attend included Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who heads the Democratic Governors Association, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and New York Gov. Kathy Hockle.
Newsom added that he has “went wherever the administration asked him to go” and “done every job, big and small, because I believe in this man.”
“I believe in his character,” he said.
The California governor is set to head to New Hampshire next week for a headlining Democratic campaign event, further fueling speculation that he is preparing to take Biden’s place if he drops out of the 2024 race.
New Hampshire is a key battleground state in the general election, and Newsom is a key surrogate for President Biden’s 2024 reelection campaign and plans to campaign for the president and other Democratic candidates during his time in the state, according to a source familiar with his plans.
After Biden’s lackluster performance in the debate with Trump, Newsom told reporters in the spin room that he would continue to staunchly support Biden, whose lackluster performance has drawn heavy criticism even from within his own party.
“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. “I don’t think there are any Democrats in my party that would do that, and especially after tonight, we will support him.”
Newsom added: “I’ve spent a lot of time with him. I know Joe Biden. I know what he’s accomplished over the last three and a half years, I know what he’s capable of doing. And I have no qualms.”
Ahead of the first presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle last week, Biden’s mental acuity became a central focus of political discussion following a shocking Washington Journal report last month – denied by the White House – which revealed that many members of Congress had doubts about Biden’s mental acuity, with many saying Biden’s aging was evident in private meetings.
