President Biden's lackluster performance in the first 2024 debate with former President Trump ended with tough questions about whether Biden should end his campaign, which California Gov. Gavin Newsom was forced to answer as the president's top surrogate in Atlanta.
“I think it's not helpful and I think it's unnecessary,” Newsom told MSNBC Thursday after the debate. “With all due respect, the more times we start having these conversations, falling into these dead ends, it is not helpful for our democracy, the destiny and the future of this country, of the world. “They need us to step up right now and that is exactly what I intend to do.”
Newsom waded into a crowd of reporters after the debate and shot down rumors that he would become the party's nominee after panic set in among some Democrats, who were shocked by the president's performance, stumbling over answers to moderators' questions and occasionally losing his thread.
“No, our candidate is Joe Biden,” a seemingly frustrated Newsom said as he was mobbed by reporters. “I look forward to voting for him in November.”
Veteran political advisers and party delegates suggested Biden's performance could hurt him in the polls, but rejected claims that the debate would have a material effect on the campaign. The endorsement of Newsom and other top Democrats, such as Vice President Kamala Harris, helped ease the frenzy.
Republican political consultant Mike Madrid attributed the concern to “a lot of bedwetting.”
“This was not a good night for Biden,” Madrid said. “There’s no question about it. Was it disastrous?” Will it dramatically change the trajectory of the race? “No.”
Regardless of how the race affects Biden, there are political advantages for Newsom if his favored candidate wins or loses.
A Biden victory would benefit California and the governor's political agenda, while a loss would make the left coast state and its governor the nation's top Democratic challenger to a Trump White House.
If Biden loses, Newsom would once again lead the Democratic resistance from the Golden State.
The return of the legal battles and social media clashes over immigration, climate change and health care that dominated the first two years of his term as governor could raise his profile and leave him in prime position to run for president four years from now. .
On the other hand, Biden's re-election would almost certainly be better for the state and for Newsom's ability to make his progressive policies a reality.
“There are a lot of policies that Trump could implement that would not be good for California,” said Lori Cox Han, the Doy B. Henley Chair of American Presidential Studies at Chapman University. “But that’s also a situation that would give Gavin Newsom the opportunity to provide strong, decisive leadership — if he’s up to the task, and that would be a pretty tough test.”
In a recent interview before the debate, Newsom spoke about his concerns for California if Trump wins. He predicted that Trump would move immediately to implement his conservative agenda, which includes mass deportations of immigrants, dismantling efforts to combat climate change and restricting abortion.
Newsom said he was concerned that the Trump administration was “getting tougher” and that there was no transition period. Trump’s campaign “is already over,” he said. “They’re ready to go.”
To prepare, Newsom said he is working to “prepare the state for the future.”
The governor said his administration, in partnership with California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, is reviewing past lawsuits and new case law to understand where the state might be vulnerable. Newsom aides are studying conservative policies laid out in “Project 25,” a playbook of sorts for Trump’s second term, to better understand “what they’re potentially pushing,” he said.
“We’re doing a hard look at what protections are in place, what things we can do legislatively and looking at executive actions,” Newsom said.
Newsom says his staff is talking to the Biden administration about pending actions, requests and waivers that the federal government can enact before the president’s first term ends. He’s also carefully looking at federal funds that California hasn’t spent to make sure a Trump administration can’t “claw them back.”
Daniel Zingale, who served as Newsom's chief communications strategist when the governor took office, said people who speculate about the political benefits Newsom might receive if Trump is elected often have no experience in governing.
“It's one-dimensional and overly simplistic to say, 'Oh, that's good politically for the governor of California,' because anyone who had government experience when Trump was president would tell you that's a challenge,” Zingale said.
Zingale said the 100 lawsuits the state filed against the Trump administration became a waste of time.
“Lawsuits follow Trump, like Swifties follow Taylor,” Zingale said. “We had over 100 of them then, and you know you can expect that to happen again, and it interferes with the government.”
Newsom, from the early days of creating his administration, was focused on things that needed to happen in California, Zingale said, but it was in the context of a president who was “a climate change denier, a drought denier.” and “seemed to have it in for California.”
But Newsom also did not shy away from opportunities to contrast himself with the former president.
“The Newsom administration’s ‘California for All’ approach stands in open and unapologetic opposition to Trump’s morally divisive ‘them versus us’ way of viewing the world,” Zingale said.
That contrast could prove useful for Newsom's standing among Democrats if Trump prevails.
As governor of California, Newsom could gain publicity as Trump's top foe during his final two years in office, which could serve as a launching pad for the 2028 presidential race.
If Trump wins, Newsom said he and California “would have to stand up for ourselves and our values.”
“We have a lot to defend and it would be hard to lose, but a lot to gain,” Newsom said in an interview with The Times before the debate. “But I don’t expect to have to worry about this or deal with this … because Biden is going to be reelected.”
After the debate, Madrid, a Republican political consultant who actively opposes Trump, argued that the dynamics of the race had not changed.
“You have a deranged lunatic and a weak old man,” Madrid said. “That’s the choice, America. There you have it. But there’s nothing new. We’ve seen more of that.”
RL Miller, a Democratic National Convention delegate from California and founder of Climate Hawks Vote, said in text chats that her friends were questioning who the Democratic National Committee should choose as an alternative.
He suggested that Democrats should take a break and calm down.
“Realistically, he is not going to pass up another opportunity to win the presidency overnight,” he said of Biden.
Newsom remained steadfast in his support for Biden throughout the night.
On social media platform X, she criticized Trump’s claims that “everyone wanted” to overturn federal abortion protections under Roe v. Wade, that the southern border is “the most dangerous place in the world” and that he had the “biggest heart on stage.”
“I was taking notes on all the lies,” Newsom told MSNBC. “I ran out of paper.”
