If there was one man Thursday night who stayed poised and on message, it was the one off the debate stage, waiting in the wings.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom was in Atlanta for the debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. A surrogate for the president, Newsom’s job — like others sent to the frenetic spin room by both candidates’ teams — was to highlight the positives of Biden’s debate performance.
But it was Newsom — who has shied away from frankly discussing any White House ambitions while simultaneously increasing his national portfolio — who emerged as the star post-debate.
Case in point, the hoards of reporters who surrounded Newsom the second he walked into the spin room, yelling questions about his own political future. As MSNBC’s Alex Wagner put it, “All of Trump’s short-list (vice presidential) nominees are walking around; no one wants to talk to them. It was like human piranhas descending on the governor at the end of this debate.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to reporters in the spin room following the CNN Presidential Debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump at the McCamish Pavilion on the Georgia Institute of Technology campus on June 27, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. President Biden and former President Trump are faced off in the first presidential debate of the 2024 campaign. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Newsom, 56, did not stray, despite the trickier task at hand. As other Democrats sounded the alarm that Biden, at 81 years old, may need to seriously consider stepping aside and letting someone else lead the presidential ticket, the governor remained steadfastly loyal.
Biden “won on substance, and that’s what matters at the end of the day,” Newsom told one reporter.
“I will never turn my back on President Biden,” he said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom backed Biden after his debate with Donald Trump, despite Biden’s shaky performance that has rattled his fellow Democrats pic.twitter.com/rVCBI6JFH1
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 28, 2024
Waiting in the wings
Speculation about Newsom’s political future isn’t new.
Even while performing as a loyal solider for Biden — Newsom campaigned for the president in South Carolina and Nevada during the primary and popped up at a Republican primary debate last year to stand as a foil to tout Biden’s accomplishments — the governor has increased his national profile.
He’s run ads in red states criticizing abortion bans. He debated Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, once thought to be a formidable GOP White House contender.
“It’s been an open secret for a long time that (Newsom’s) poised” to advance his political career, said Matt Lesenyie, a Cal State Long Beach professor and expert in California politics.
But still, he waits.
For Newsom, that’s nothing new.
The former San Francisco mayor, who exudes a certain confidence, is used to waiting his political turn, so to speak.
He had to wait for eight years while Jerry Brown occupied the role as California’s chief executive. (Albeit, Newsom didn’t wait long to replace him; he announced his gubernatorial campaign just three months after Brown was re-elected in 2014.)
But it’s a tighter rope for Newsom to walk now.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, right, talks with President Joe Biden during Biden’s visit to Baylands Nature Preserve in Palo Alto, Calif., on Monday, June 19, 2023. Biden highlighted his environment initiatives that will help protect Bay Area wetlands from climate change’s rising sea levels. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
Newsom needs to remain loyal to the president, especially as his surrogate, especially as Biden still leads the Democratic Party. But he also has to continue laying that groundwork for a White House bid, whether that’s convincing delegates he’s ready to step in during the party’s convention in August or shoring up the support for 2028.
“This is one of those things where he clearly wants to step forward, but he needs somebody else to invite him so he doesn’t look too hungry for power,” said Lesenyie, who once interned for former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
A lot of that political maneuvering will be behind the scenes, Lesenyie said, not visible to the public unless leaked.
“Newsom’s public strategy will be unchanged. He’ll be dutiful,” he said. “I expect him to do that perpetually, but behind closed doors, his people will be twisting the arms of delegates, perhaps talking to Joe or (first lady Jill Biden).”
While Newsom does seem to be the flashy chosen one — “Of all the people waiting in the wings post-debate, it’s not a coincidence that he’s the first one to speak,” said Lesenyie — there are still other Democrats who might be more suited for the job, one Democratic strategist said.
“If this is about stroking (Newsom’s) ego and not actually getting Democrats elected, Newsom can do whatever he wants,” said Michael Trujillo, a strategist based in Los Angeles.
He pointed to three other governors — Roy Cooper in North Carolina, Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania and Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan — as alternatives who should be considered to lead the ticket, at some point.
And then there’s Vice President Kamala Harris, a former California senator who also was on hand to defend Biden post-debate on television news.
“All of Joe Biden’s delegates are Joe Biden and Kamala Harris delegates,” said Trujillo. “They’ll be loyal to the vice president.”
But all the speculation — much like rumors over whether Newsom would jump into the presidential primary — may just be that, speculation. Biden said Friday he plans to stay in the race.
That leaves Newsom still in the wings, waiting and ready for when the Biden campaign needs him.
A spokesperson for Newsom declined to comment, instead pointing to the governor’s MSNBC interview Thursday night.
“I’m just doing my small part. There’s hundreds and hundreds of us who will be going out” to spread Biden’s message, Newsom said.
“All I know what to do is wake up tomorrow and do more and do better and worry less.”
As of Friday, Newsom was back in California, according to his office.
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