California Gov. Gavin Newsom is heading to Washington, D.C., ostensibly to gather with other Democratic governors to show support for an embattled Joe Biden in the wake of the president’s cringeworthy performance at last week’s presidential debate.
“Newsom is expected to make an appearance there to ‘stand with the president,’ a campaign spokesman said,” according to Sacramento news station KCRA-TV.
The meeting follows a conference call by state governors Monday “to discuss the Democratic party’s potential path forward following party concerns about Biden’s debate performance,” the outlet reported.
Liberal news site Politico described a chaotic fear that seems to have gripped Democrats in the nation’s capital.
“As White House aides scramble to tamp down fears about the president’s cognitive abilities in the wake of Thursday’s shaky debate performance, Biden will gather with Democratic governors and congressional leaders Wednesday evening,” Politico reported.
The outlet described the California governor as “a steadfast Biden supporter” who quickly jumped to the incumbent’s defense after the debate, which Politico termed “disastrous.”
“Newsom has continued offering vocal — and financial — support for the Biden campaign in the days since the debate, helping raise several hundred thousand dollars for the president and the Democratic National Committee in the hours after it aired,” the political news site reported.
And yet, Politico and other outlets were also speculating about Newsom’s prospects for higher office.
Newsom “did his best to ignore intense speculation about whether he would step in to replace the president on the Democratic ticket,” Politico reported.
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The Sacramento Bee acknowledged that Newsom “has been repeatedly mentioned as a candidate to replace Biden should the president step down.”
“He’s created the sort of fundraising infrastructure that prospective presidential candidates have used and traveled the country trying to promote himself as a national party spokesman,” the California newspaper pointed out.
As evidence of his loyalty to the candidate, the Bee pointed out that Newsom “has repeatedly said he’s not running for president this year, and he was a top spokesman at the Atlanta debate site and a vigorous defender of Biden.”
The Bee added that Newsom had already planned to visit the East Coast this weekend to campaign for Biden in Pennsylvania on Saturday and in New Hampshire on Monday.
It’s not the first time Newsom has been suspected of entertaining hopes of taking Biden’s place in the Oval Office.
Gavin Newsom Sparks ’24 Rumors With Jaunty White House Visit While Biden Overseas https://t.co/f5EPl4NIgr pic.twitter.com/AqItFGyqz8
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) July 18, 2022
Two years ago, the California governor caused some tongues to wag when he visited the White House, reportedly to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris and others, while Joe Biden was touring the Middle East.
Gavin Newsom Measures the Drapes in the White House, While Keeping California Under State of Emergency – https://t.co/ay0jHlFHo1 pic.twitter.com/PVVcWlwfL4
— California Globe (@CaliforniaGlobe) July 20, 2022
It caused more than one news outlet to joke that Newsom was “White House Hunting” and “measur[ing] the drapes in the White House.”
