Newsom emerges as top Biden response surrogate but dodges about his own future

SIMI VALLEY, California — Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is emerging as one of President Joe Biden‘s top campaign surrogates in the wake of the second Republican primary debate and ahead of a debate with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL).

Newsom appeared in the debate spin room before and after the debate, where he championed Biden’s administration while slamming the GOP 2024 field, calling them the “JV team” in conversations with the press. Two days before the debate, he appeared in a call with Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) with members of the press in which they once again slammed the Republican Party.

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The California governor made the TV circuit route once the debate finished and even went on Sean Hannity‘s show, where the two men went back and forth over whether Newsom may run for president in 2028.

“Under any circumstances at all, yes or no, will you ever, ever accept the Democratic nomination to run for president in 2024, under any circumstances at all? That’s a yes or no,” Hannity asked him.

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Newsom at first attempted to dodge the debate question before finally saying “no.”

“Joe Biden’s our president,” he also added. Newsom has often walked a tightrope of championing the Biden administration without overshadowing his fellow Democrats with questions about his political ambitions. The effort saw some praise from fellow Democrats after the GOP debate.

Biden supporters championed Newsom’s defense of the president, claiming he was countering GOP attacks effectively. “Governor @GavinNewsom gets it. Democrats must punch back twice as hard when Republicans lie about @JoeBiden’s energy policy,” said the group Gen Z for Biden after Newsom’s discussion with Hannity over Biden’s energy legacy. “Today, America is more energy independent and more green than we were under Trump. These two goals are not mutually exclusive.”

Even Republicans put off by former President Donald Trump had some praise for Newsom. “I’m sorry, but Gavin Newsom is very, very good at this,” said Health Mayo, founder of Principles First, which hosts a Conservative Political Action Conference alternative summit. “He may not be good at governing, but he is very, very good at whatever this is. And this is sadly more important to national electoral success at the moment than whether you’re good at governing.”

Others, like the millionaire owner of the New York Yankees, Patrick Bet-David, claimed Newsom was the “winner of the debate.”

“Right after, he has the balls to go on Hannity selling his ideas to the Fox audience? Love or hate him, he’s the Trump of the left,” the millionaire continued.

But it wasn’t just praising Biden; Newsom took time to slam DeSantis, one of his fiercest rivals.

Newsom’s Nov. 30 debate with DeSantis will give him another chance at raising a national profile ahead of a possible 2028 run. Hannity will host the debate in Georgia, a crucial battleground state in presidential elections.

However, Newsom said he has nothing to lose by participating in this governor vs. governor debate despite not being on the ballot this year. “I don’t know why he’s debating a governor of California. I mean, again, that is so disqualifying on his behalf,” Newsom told the press.

A spokesman for the Biden-Harris campaign told the Washington Examiner what they expect to see from the Newsom-DeSantis debate.

“What we’re going to see in the Gov. Newsom and Ron DeSantis debate is going to be a clash between two governors who one has a vision for delivering for the American people and delivering for his constituents,” Ammar Moussa, Biden’s campaign spokesman, said. “And you’ve got Ron DeSantis on the other side that’s more focused on attacking LGBT youth and passing tax cuts for the wealthy and really pandering to the extreme, far-right MAGA wing of the party.”

Larry Elder, Newsom’s former gubernatorial opponent, exclusively told the Washington Examiner earlier this year the Democratic Party is not ready for Newsom in 2024.

“Of course he wants to run for president,” Elder said. “And he knows, however, he can’t dropkick Joe Biden because to do that means Kamala Harris is next person up. And he knows that if Kamala Harris is not the party nominee in the event that Joe Biden cannot make it, black women will be furious if they perceive her to be kicked aside in favor of some white person like Mayor Pete [Buttigieg] or Gavin Newsom. So he knows that.”

“And if she’s not the party nominee, if Joe Biden can’t make it, they’ll be angry, not so angry that they vote Republican, but they won’t vote at all,” Elder added.

As the nation’s first black, Asian, and female vice president, Harris has long been seen as a symbol of the Democratic Party’s growing diversity. Black women, the most loyal base for Democrats, have long supported Harris and have pushed back against reports that Biden should drop Harris from the ticket.

There have also been reports of tensions between Newsom’s and Harris’s teams, but the California governor has sought to quell these issues. He told CNN host Dana Bash last week that Harris was the best person to continue as Biden’s vice president. “I think this administration in the last 2 1/2 years has been one of the most outstanding administrations in the last few decades, and she’s a member of that administration. She gets to lay and claim credit to a lot of that success,” he said.

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Before that, he told former Meet the Press host Chuck Todd in the unlikely prospect Biden doesn’t seek reelection, “I think the vice president is naturally the one lined up, and the filing deadlines are quickly coming to pass.”

But as Newsom prepares for the debate with DeSantis, he could best position himself for a future run, if not in 2024 or 2028, then maybe in 2032.

Amy DeLaura contributed to this report.