It’s not news to anyone that Gavin Newsom has been running a shadow campaign for president for the better part of 2024. He’s been trotting around the country with his Campaign for Democracy PAC, talking to anyone who will listen about book bans, gun control, and the threat red states pose to America.
Peculiar activity for a man who can’t seem to dig his own state out of a $32 billion deficit, an out-of-control crime spree, worker strikes, and enough homeless people to populate their own township.
Gavin Newsom and the Debate of the Year
Nothing has proclaimed Gavin Newsom’s oval office aspirations more than challenging Ron DeSantis, a legitimate candidate for the Republican ticket, to a debate. Like many far-left Democrats, Newsom is saying the quiet part out loud.
DeSantis initially responded to Newsom’s throwing down the gauntlet by saying, “he’s got huge problems in his state. And yet with all those problems, he has a real serious fixation with the state of Florida.”
In the beginning of August, DeSantis accepted the challenge. “Absolutely. I’m game, let’s get it done. Just tell me when and where,” DeSantis told Fox News host Sean Hannity, who would serve as moderator for the potential debate.
Now that the debate is becoming more of a reality, with terms being hammered out by the governors’ teams, it seems as if the White House is finally paying attention, and they are not pleased.
At one point, many thought Newsom’s strategy was promoted by those in the Oval Office, the Democrat’s golden boy from the Golden State a reliable backup should a devastating malady befall President Biden prior to the 2024 election.
White House Deems Newsom a Nuisance
However, recent reports have emerged that some on the Biden team are most definitely not excited about the politician with the best-known pompadour in California (second only to you-know-who) debating Florida’s most beloved governor.
Political advisers to both President Biden and Vice President Harris were reportedly annoyed with Newsom’s planned spar with the Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the strongest 2024 Republican presidential hopeful after Trump.
“It’s disrespectful,” an outside adviser to Harris said, according to a report from NBC News on Sunday. “Joe Biden is running with Kamala Harris. That’s the Democratic ticket.”
Say what you will about Gavin Newsom (and I’ve said plenty) but the man’s got more charisma and charm – albeit a kind of weird, creepy metrosexual charm – than Biden. And he’d certainly run a stronger presidential campaign than Sleepy Joe.
Maybe this is why some of President Joe Biden’s political advisers recently described him as a “nuisance.”
While that’s not really debatable, I find Newsom a nuisance for different reasons. Mostly for his inability to lead the beautiful state I live in out of complete and utter demise.
On the Other Hand …
Others in the administration see an upside to Newsom’s gumption.
“What he’s doing here is appropriate for a surrogate. It would not be appropriate for the president or the vice president,” said a Biden adviser who lauded Newsom for taking on DeSantis and for sharing a donor list with Biden’s re-election campaign.
“We’re in close touch with him,” this adviser said. “This is the kind of thing we want surrogates to do.”
He’s certainly a stronger representative for team blue and a much better orator than the Vice President, who also recently went after Florida’s governor over the state’s K-12 curriculum with regards to history and slavery.
Granted, beating Kamala Harris in a challenge of words is not exactly a daunting task.
Still, some contend if DeSantis has a strong showing in the yet to be confirmed debate it would bolster his profile and threaten an already quite vulnerable Democratic party.
Either way, Newsom is bringing some much-needed vigor and vitality to his party and making an already hot-under-the-collar year in politics even hotter.
Jennifer Galardi is the politics and culture editor for 19FortyFive.com. She has a Master’s in Public Policy from Pepperdine University and produces and hosts the podcast Connection with conversations that address health, culture, politics and policy. In a previous life, she wrote for publications in the health, fitness, and nutrition space. In addition, her pieces have been published in the Epoch Times and Pepperdine Policy Review.
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