Did Newsom Save Biden’s Candidacy?
It’s starting to look like President Joe Biden has weathered a near-total rebellion among his Democratic ranks. With all the oxygen in the political cycle sucked up by the near assassination of former President Donald Trump — and with Democratic...
The post Did Newsom Save Biden’s Candidacy? appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.
It’s starting to look like President Joe Biden has weathered a near-total rebellion among his Democratic ranks.
With all the oxygen in the political cycle sucked up by the near assassination of former President Donald Trump — and with Democratic delegates likely set to begin voting in less than a week — it appears that time has run out for the many Democrats who wanted to force out the visibly aging and declining president. (READ MORE: Advice To Trump: Fire The Secret Service)
How has Biden’s candidacy managed to survive despite relentless media criticism, public calls from 20 Democratic lawmakers for him to exit the race, and reports that dozens more were plotting to urge him to end his candidacy?
A significant factor has been the efforts of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom Backs Biden. It’s Not Because He Loves Him
On that fateful debate night, Newsom was in the building as Biden’s top surrogate, the man who would take the lead in the spin room.
The governor had spent the previous few months tying himself as closely to Biden as possible to win that top status. The week of the debate, Newsom had even used his State of the State address to vouch for Biden and frame the presidential election in apocalyptic terms.
“This year, we face another extraordinary moment in history in California — for the country and the world,” he said. “We are presented with a choice between a society that embraces our values and a world darkened by division.” (READ MORE from Ellie Gardey Holmes: Democrats Are Publicly Defecting)
When the TV cameras turned to Newsom following Biden’s wretched date performance, Newsom — knowing that the media was turning on Biden en masse and that Democrats were in total panic — could have hedged. Even the slightest deviation from his line that Biden had delivered a “masterclass” in achievements and was the man for the job could have majorly hurt Biden, especially given Newsom’s roles as top surrogate and preeminent Democratic governor. But Newsom did everything he could to remain on Biden’s side.
“We gotta have the back of this president,” he said immediately following the debate. “You don’t turn your back because of one performance. What kind of party does that?”
Of course, Newsom’s decision to remain on Biden’s side was motivated by self-interest. (In fact, every aspect of Newsom’s career has been dominated by his ambitiousness and desire to move up the political food chain.) The California governor calculated that aligning with Biden would give him the best chance at securing the ticket if Biden stepped aside. Hedging against Biden’s candidacy could have alienated the president, hurting his odds in a contested convention where the sitting president’s endorsement would be key.
But Newsom did not stop at voicing support for Biden. He went further, acting as though he was doing everything in his power to keep the president in the race and defend him against critics.
Biden’s ‘Cheerleader in Chief’
When nervous Democratic governors wanted to meet with the president to confront him over his seeming cognitive collapse, Newsom was able to spin the meeting into a PR success for the president. During the meeting, several governors told Biden that they were very concerned by his debate performance. Even worse, Biden told the governors that he needed more sleep and to stop working past 8 p.m. Newsom portrayed the meeting as a total success that had rallied all the Democratic governors behind Biden.
“That was the Joe Biden I remember from two weeks ago,” said Newsom in reaction to the meeting. “That was the Joe Biden that I remember from two years ago. That’s the Joe Biden that I’m looking forward to reelecting as president of the United States.” Newsom went so far as to frame the president’s comments about needing to cease working at 8 p.m. as a “rhetorical framework of just being fit and rested.” These comments, claimed Newsom, were “more figurative” and were not literal. “I believe in this man. I believe in his character. I believe that he has been one of the most transformative presidents in our collective lifetimes,” Newsom said.
Newsom lent the full force of his reputation to Biden by embarking on a three-state tour to campaign for the president. The tour made Newsom into Biden’s No. 1 supporter in his efforts to stay in the race in the face of the growing Democratic mutiny. (READ MORE: The Ballot and the Bullet Against Trump)
Newsom traveled all the way to western Michigan to hold a small campaign event for Biden — on the Fourth of July, no less. “Joe Biden is our president,” Newsom said. “He said he’s all in, I doubled down, said I’m all in, and not only that, I’m here with you to prove it.” Two days later, the governor was in the key battleground of Bucks County, Penn. As numerous news outlets were reporting that day that Democratic lawmakers were plotting to make a collective call for the president to step out of the race once they returned from the holiday break, Newsom stood out for his adamant support. Newsom’s public stance in favor of the president provided a major counterpoint to these reports and likely deterred some Democrats from turning against Biden. Then, that weekend, Newsom traveled to New Hampshire to continue his campaign for the president.
Dubbed by one Democratic strategist as Biden’s “cheerleader in chief,” Newsom had served as the Democratic voice calling on Biden to stay in. He had played a major role in preventing Democrats from reaching a consensus on urging the president to withdraw from the race, even though most of them wanted to.
Newsom Should Hope His Favors to Biden Are Forgotten
Joe Biden owes much of his current survival in the presidential election to Gavin Newsom. But why did Newsom save Joe, especially when Newsom’s entire political history points to the conclusion that his deepest ambition is to become president?
There are several explanations.
First, Newsom may have unintentionally saved Biden. He likely feared that turning against Biden would put everyone on alert about just how much he desires the presidency. In recent years, Newsom has received significant backlash in California for his naked political ambitions and overwhelming focus on growing his national name recognition at the expense of paying attention to his home state, making him sensitive about avoiding this impression. Newsom likely hoped that other Democrats’ efforts would lead Biden to exit the race and perhaps give an endorsement to his most forceful advocate. The governor’s intention was never to defend the president to the extent that Biden would stay in the race.
Second, Newsom may have concluded that Vice President Kamala Harris was Biden’s most likely successor and thus done everything he could to keep her out of the Oval Office. In the case that Harris replaces Biden and is elected president, Newsom would be stuck waiting for the presidency until 2032, given that she would be the incumbent. Plus, Newsom’s relationship with Kamala Harris has been contentious for decades, going back to when they both got their political starts from San Francisco politico Willie Brown. (There was also their fighting over Newsom’s then-girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, which you can read more about in my new book, Newsom Unleashed: The Progressive Lust for Unbridled Power.)
Third, Newsom might still be hoping that Biden will drop out of the race. In this scenario, Newsom could assert that, despite having the influence to force Biden out, he chose not to because he prioritizes his country and party ahead of his own ambitions.
A Trump presidency would also bestow several advantages on Newsom. It would give him the opportunity to again be the Democrats’ anti-Trump, as he was during his first two years as governor of the most populous state in the union. Newsom was able to use this position to increase his national standing and would be able to do so again in the case that Trump is reelected.
Whatever Newsom’s logic, you can conclude that he’s doing what he believes is best for his chances to win the presidency.
His stance is not without risks. He has been one of the loudest voices claiming that Biden is cognitively capable, and his influential role in maintaining Biden as the Democratic nominee has been widely publicized. If Biden’s cognitive decline has negative consequences for the Democratic Party, Newsom could be blamed. There is already a growing belief among Americans that Biden’s closest advisers have worked in a coordinated cabal to shield the president’s decline from the public. If this opinion becomes more mainstream, Newsom’s participation in it could be his downfall. There is also the possibility that Biden could make significant governance errors due to his diminished abilities and the likelihood that Democrats will lose the presidential race. Both would reflect poorly on Newsom.
Newsom has already faced backlash for his decision to advocate for the president. In Bucks County, Newsom was asked whether he was “damaging [his] credibility in the long run” by vouching for a president that so many were coming to see as a man in severe cognitive decline. In response to this question, Newsom said, “Look, there’s a handful of folks that may have different opinions. The vast majority of the caucus remains solidly behind the president.” Then, when Newsom traveled to New Hampshire, the former New Hampshire House speaker, Democrat Steve Shurtleff, told the media he believed Newsom could be picking the wrong side in “a profile-in-courage moment,” where the right thing to do was to call on the president to step aside, no matter the political consequences. “He’s shown that he’s been very loyal to the president and the administration,” said Shurtleff. “And that, I think, could hurt him.”
While Newsom may have rescued Joe Biden, he must now hope that this favor fades from Americans’ memories.
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